Uprising
by 2Lazy4u
Summary: After escaping Vorkuta, Viktor Reznov awakens to a new world after his death. As a stranger with no place to call home, he soon meets a half-elf girl and eventually joins her faction in the upcoming spectacle known as the Royal Election. A new power shall rise, shaking this world to the core as different factions race for the throne. But Reznov knew only one way to reach it... War.
1. New world

'Compared to my brothers in arm… my comrades... I have lived... A long time…' The man spoke as he drove haphazardly down a road, side by side with a train.

The American he befriended in his time in Vorkuta will complete his last wish as he witnessed him jump onto the runaway train. He smiled.

Bullets whizzed by past his head as it pierced the back of the passenger seat. The guardsmen of Vorkuta are hot on his trail. He knew this was his last stand.

"REZNOV!" the American known as Alex Mason yelled, urging him to jump over to the train to make his escape. "It's your turn! Come on! Step eight, Reznov - Freedom!"

The man simply looked on and gave a small smile.

"For you, Mason...Not for me."

The man swerved off course down onto a different road, leading his pursuers away from the train.

"REZNOV!" Mason cried out.

….

'Mason… you will achieve what I could not…' the man thought as the impact of heavy caliber bullets impacted the back of his truck.

'For years, I have loved my country, answering her calls whenever they may be. I have lost many brothers and loved ones along the lines of duty', as his mind drifted to Chernov, the young soviet recruit who died in Berlin by a German flamethrower. His father, a musician, in Stalingrad, murdered in his sleep by the Germans. And finally, his well cherished friend, Dimitri, who died a gruesome death at the hands of his TRAITOROUS "Comrades" and that DAMNED NAZI.

"Dragovich, Kravchenko, Steiner… All must die…"

He uttered his last words/curses as he felt a powerful explosion rock his world. Time slowed.

…

'Mason… I believe in you… You will bring an end to Project Nova...' he smiled before succumbing to darkness.

...

His name, was Viktor Reznov.

* * *

 **Elsewhere:**

Natsuki Subaru, age 17, walked down the marketplace as he was rejected by a fruit seller for having the wrong currency. So far his endeavor in this new world wasn't going as he expected so far but he hoped for the best. His strange apparel and personality only made him stick out more among the crowd in the streets as he continued walking, uncaring of the attention he might bring.

...

May fate have mercy on him.

* * *

 ***Drip*Drip*Drip***

Being in limbo was sure a weird feeling as Reznov did not know what lied beyond death, but it was not an unfamiliar one as he lived a harsh life.

 ***Drip*Drip*Drip***

Reznov wrinkled his face as he snapped opened his eyes as some water ran down his face. He gasped for air as he began to breathe erratically.

...

Confused, he slowly observed his surroundings and saw he was lying in an alleyway of some sort.

"Beh… Perhaps the mortician had nowhere else to put me," he joked as he slowly got up.

He struggled with this small endeavor only to realize he was being weighed down by something on his side.

A large pack, strapped to his shoulder.

…

'Something is not right…' he thought.

He looked at his hands as he went wide eyed.

...

His index finger was back!

Reznov could only gape at such a prospect as he went to feel around it with he other hand.

He had lost that finger during the invasion of Stalingrad by the German army... And now here it was again...

The loss of the crucial digits greatly inhibited his sniping skills as he greatly relied on Dimitri during that day he helped assassinating General Amsel by guiding him.

...

'This can't be real...' he thought.

...

He could hear commerce and conversations. Crowds?

...

He snapped out of his stupor and straightened his thoughts.

With a large heave, his picked himself up and made his way to the commotion.

With each step he took, the light from the end of the alley way grew brighter as he covered his face. What he saw next definitely surprised him.

A marketplace.

People of all kinds and shape walked along the market's cobblestone roads, attending to their daily lives.

His eyes nearly popped out when he saw a hippo walking on its hind legs and wearing clothing. There were animal like people and normal people walking side by side as it was nothing! And not to mention a cart being pulled by some great giant lizard beast.

Did he somehow stumble upon a circus set? He rubbed his eyes but soon came to the conclusion that he was not dreaming. He was alive.

He stepped out of the alleyway and into the street. It reminded him of home… before the war. So peaceful and beautiful...

...

He immediately made a bee line to the plaza of the marketplace whose great decor was a huge water fountain and took a seat on its ledge.

Just as he was going to scoop some water to wash off his face, he peered in his reflection which shocked him even further.

He was cleanly shaven and his features looked younger, but still rugged as ever. He noticed he was wearing an Ushanka hat with the soviet crest embroidered on the center with a matching trench coat to go along with it. It was his old uniform. On his back, slung was a PPSH-41, his preferred service SMG with a standard slim magazine. He did not however find any more magazines on him unfortunately. He did find his Tokarev pistol and the machete he once wielded to cut down the Nazi flag in Berlin, marking the Soviet victory. So many memories of the glorious days in the end of the war.

...

'What in Lenin's name is going on…?'

...

His presence did not go unnoticed however. His strange apparel and appearance gathered some odd stares from adults and children alike. He did have a scary face after all.

He heard a sharp whistle as he turned to see a well built man waving to him, motioning him to come over to his stand.

Reznov obliged as he needed answers. He wasn't at home any longer. He stepped up to the fruit stand and stood at nearly the same height as the owner.

"You look lost buddy… Are you perhaps a foreigner? Cause' you'd be the second one today…" the man said bored. "I hope you aren't as annoying as the other one…"

Reznov raised his eyebrow in confusion, having no idea what the man meant, but he will ask questions anyways.

"Where am I?" he simply asked. "What is this place?"

The well built man answered and scoffed. "You're in the Capital of Lugnica buddy… While you're here want to buy an appa?" as he offered a red fruit that greatly resembled an apple.

Reznov was a bit peckish...

He dug into his pockets but came to realize he did not have any currency whatsoever on him as he simply shrugged to the fruit vendor.

"I thought so…" the man sighed as he tossed the fruit to the Russian.

Reznov caught it with his open hand looking at the man with appreciation.

"What is your name comrade? For I will repay this debt to you one day."

"Kadomon… Kadomon Risch," he replied.

"Viktor Reznov," the Russian said back his own name while extending his other hand in a handshake which the salesman returned. "Your generosity will not be forgotten my friend."

Reznov was about to turn away and depart but stopped in mid-action to ask one last question.

"Have.. you ever heard of the country Russia?"

The man rubbed his beard. "Can't say I have… Nope."

Reznov nodded and finally walked away. He was definitely not in his world anymore. Things that one would only hear in children stories. Whisked away to a new world. He was living that story now. What did this mean for him he wondered, as he took the first bite into the succulent red fruit.

...

It has been many years since he had a fresh fruit, as he savored the sweet flavor.

...

He had spent far too long in the gulag, wasting away, plotting, brooding, hungry... for vengeance.

But here?... No more... What was his new purpose?

He walked down the market place in a slow pace, wondering what should he do now. For almost all his life, he was simply a soldier. What is to become of him and this new fate? Will he become a beggar? Will he ever adjust and just try to settle down? So many questions, very little answers...

"Hm?"

Reznov heard the familiar sounds of groans of pain. Far too familiar perhaps...

It was coming from his left as he looked down an alley way which seemed abandoned.

With nothing else better to do, he readjusted his large pack and went in to investigate.

This led to the fated meeting of the ones from the same world, but different eras.

* * *

Natsuki Subaru curled himself into a ball as he simply took the beating that was given to him by the three thugs known as Ton, Chin, and Kan. Blinded by his arrogance and overconfidence, he was easily taken out by Chin who punched him hard in the face as the rest started kicking him down. Reality literally kicked down Subaru as he realized he was losing consciousness.

"Svoloch!" he heard as his eyes slowly drifted to a lone figure down the alley. Was he saved? Or was it another thug ready to join in...?

...

* * *

"What did this young man do to you three to warrant this?!" Reznov asked rather angrily. This was not the first time he seen such a thing.

The smallest of them, Kan, hid behind his two friends as he barked his slurs like a chihuahua.

"Beat it old man! This ain't got nothing to do with ya! Unless you want to join him of course…" as they all smirked, thinking they can take on the old war veteran.

The largest of them all Ton, stood a little taller than the new stranger and was easily more bulky than he was but felt very intimidated by his presence alone. Chin, the young man with white and pink hair and odd clothing fashion simply produced two knives challenging the old man, hoping to scare him off.

As soon as the knives came out, Reznov immediately pulled out his Tokarev Pistol and set the hammer back. He aimed straight at Chin.

...

"You best put those away before someone gets hurt…" he said menacingly, eyes seeming dead with no emotion. This was the classic thousand yard stare.

Chin hesitated to move forward as shiver went up his spine. Then again, he was just an old man, and there were three of them and one of him. What could go wrong he thought.

Chin inched forward.

…

A sudden but loud crack filled the air as it resounded through the alleyway and into the streets where on goers jumped, startled by the sudden noise.

Shopkeepers looked out of their windows, kids and adults alike stopped in their tracks, mounts and beasts of burdens began to feel uneasy. This was something unlike they all ever heard of before.

* * *

Chin eyes snapped wide open as he felt something warm run down the side of his neck. A stinging sensation was felt on his left earlobe. He felt around the area and saw his hands covered in blood.

He shrieked in terror as he dropped his weapons. Almost immediately, the bravest of them all, Ton, charged forward to Reznov but the ear piercing sounds of the metal device cried out once more as Ton simply fell trying to go forward.

"Arrghh!" Ton grunted in pain as he clutched his thigh, quickly noticing it was bleeding.

Kan, the small midget stepped back in fear of the man as he nearly soiled himself. He finally realized the danger they were all in.

"P-P-Please! Don't kill us! We just wanted to rob him is all!" he cried out, not before realizing that was a shit excuse anyways.

The man's face contorted into anger as he pointed his pistol at him.

"You three… Out of my sight.. NOW."

...

With not a moment to lose, Chin and Kan scrambled to help Ton whose leg has been shot and ran off.

Reznov set aside his pack, holstered his weapon, and knelt down to help the poor young man who was beaten up badly.

"Boy! Can you hear me?" he asked shaking the boy who responded by going in and out of consciousness.

Reznov sighed as it was against his better judgement to leave someone like this alone...

He examined the boy's features and deduced that he looked like someone that originated from the far east in his world. But the weird clothes said otherwise...

An idea popped into his head as Reznov was about to check his sack to see if there were any medical supplies before suddenly hearing footsteps. Quickly, he put his hand over his pistol holster ready for more thugs but was surprised to see a young girl with silver hair.

"Ah… Please… don't be alarmed… I was just passing by until I saw what happened earlier," she said immediately defending herself. "I only just want to help."

...

After a moment, Reznov relaxed as his hand drifted away from his holster and motioned her to come over.

He got a better look at the seemingly young girl whose eyes were like gems, fair skin, and pointy ears.

'An elf?' he thought perhaps.

What happened next amazed him as the girl placed her hands onto the young unconscious man and started emitting a green aura. Slowly but surely the pain faced the boy made disappeared into a relaxed one.

Once done, he propped the boy onto the wall nearby and left him there to rest while he intended to discuss further with the girl.

"Do you know him?" the girl asked genuinely at which Reznov shook his head.

"No, I don't. I only saved him from his vicious beating moments ago..."

"Yeah... I saw... That was very brave of you..." she complimented.

"It was nothing... Only the right thing to do," he responded.

...

"S-So what kind of magic was that?" she asked. "The one where you made that terrible noise?"

Reznov was skeptical of this girl but soon remembered he was in a new world. No one probably even heard of a gun before, let alone a gunshot.

"I know not of any magicks," Reznov answered to the girl whose intentions he now deemed pure, yet odd.

"Eh? Really?!" she said surprise. "You're lying!" she said in which Reznov shook his head and chuckled.

"Magic from where I am from is considered fiction, fairy tales, and legends," he said.

At that moment a cat like creature popped out of the young girl's hair.

"Really? Magic is rather very common knowledge here," it said at which surprised the old war veteran.

"Chyort!" he cursed as he jumped back in surprise.

"No, don't be afraid!" the girl assured him. "His name is Puck, my Spirit familiar."

Reznov loosened up slowly but skeptically as he sat back down as the cat waved to him in greetings. 'Spirit familiar...?' he thought.

"Haa….. Last time I've seen a talking cat was when I was two hours in drinking Vodka in the Gulag… On a spit roast.." he laughed to himself while the cat seemed a bit offended.

The elf girl simply tilted her head, not knowing what the Russian meant...

!

The girl just remembered what she was doing before. She had to get her insignia back!

He face began to show some distress as Reznov was quick to notice.

"Worried over something? If you are needed elsewhere, please do not trouble yourself here any longer," Reznov said. "You have done more than I could've asked for, easing this young man's pain..." Reznov said a little regretfully, as he wanted to ask some questions... To ask more about this new world.

The girl shook her head. "I don't think I can do that..." She replied. "I consider myself somewhat responsible for his recovery now that I helped him after all..."

Reznov smiled at her response. Now he knows this girl was pure in her intentions and attitude for helping a total stranger. He felt like that he can trust her.

"Very well then... We will both watch over him," he said as the girl took a seat near him.

Now was the time, Reznov thought.

...

"I'll be honest with you... I guess you can consider me a foreigner to these lands... and I want to know more about them," he said to the girl who was surprised at his little request.

"Oh... well then.. umm... I don't where to begin but I'll try my best," she responded as the old man smiled in appreciation.

"But before we go on... aren't you scared of me...?"

...

...

"What?" Reznov deadpanned.

"Why should anyone be scared of beautiful and kind young girl like you?" he asked in confusion.

...

The girl blushed a bit at the statement as it was a response she didn't expect.

"I'm sorry... forget I asked that..."

...

"Very well," Reznov said rather intrigued by her response.

...

Perhaps she can be the key to answering some of his questions...

* * *

 _Little did they both know, this fated meeting would lead to great events in the future..._


	2. The Encounter

In the previous chapter:

Reznov finds himself awaken in a new world after his death, escaping Vorkuta with Alex Mason. Here he finds himself with a new dilemma, what to do now? He finds himself in a situation as he rescues a young man from a brutal beating from three thugs and meets a half-elf girl in the process. What awaits him in this new journey?

* * *

Chapter 2: The Encounter

* * *

Throughout the cosmos, the existences of other worlds/dimensions have always been a topic of great discussion but always been refuted in a way to make any seem a bit crazy talking about it. Well then, today, Reznov was a crazy man as he managed to find himself in another world.

He sat down on next to a silver haired, half-elf girl who had recently helped treat a young man whom he had rescued from a vicious beat down by the local thugs. They had begun to exchange in small talks while watching over the young man.

"You know, now that I think of it, you really do look like a foreigner…" the girl said while prospecting the veteran and his attire.

"Do I really attract that much attention…?" the man replied as the girl shook her head.

"No not really, it's just that you seem out of place is all. Your attire seems a bit odd after all. Are you perhaps some sort of nobleman or a warrior perhaps?"

Reznov nodded slowly as he remembered his former occupation as a Captain in the Red Army… before his unfortunate betrayal and imprisonment.

"I am not a nobleman by any standards but I was indeed a soldier. A proud one in fact. Spent a good portion of my life serving my country the best I could," Reznov proclaimed remembering the golden years of his life.

"But enough about me if you don't mind… As a newcomer around these lands, can you perhaps spare some answers for a lost old man?"

The girl raised an eyebrow at his request. Was he trying to dodge any questions regarding his past? She couldn't exactly determine what kind of person this 'Reznov' was but based on his actions recently, she can supposedly determine that he was a decent person.

The girl sighed. "I wonder how someone can suddenly appear into Lugnica and not know anything about it… But since you asked… I guess," the girl replied as Reznov smiled.

"That is good.. yes… My first question, though it may sounds odd but, what is this world? This country?"

"Eh?"

Reznov rubbed his temples.

"I know, an odd question. However, I know nothing of these lands or its people. Perhaps you can explain it in a simple way for me?"

Emilia smiled. "I'll try my best."

For the next 30 minutes or so, Reznov sat, intentively listening to the girl's brief, yet, long explanation of the history of these lands, the surrounding countries, and the people and their way of life with the best of her knowledge.

* * *

Reznov could not help but realize again that he had fallen right into a fairy tale itself. He chuckled in disbelief. This was reality.

"I see… I'm beginning to understand things better now…" he contemplated while rubbing his chin.

A strange new world with a new beginning. Was this perhaps a second chance for him? What will he do then? he thought.

The young man stirred in his slumped position, slowly coming to.

"It appears the young man is finally coming to," he said as he noticed the black haired boy slowly opening his eyes.

* * *

Natsuki Subaru groaned in soreness as he slowly began to open his eyes. The darkness fading away and light began to fill his vision.

The very first thing he saw when he woke up was a silver haired beauty, setting beside a figure he could not see clearly at first.

Subaru smiled groggily. "Did.. you save me?" as he rubbed his eyes.

The girl shook her head. "Well not really," the girl said. "I only healed your injuries, you should properly thank the man next to me for saving your life."

Subaru's vision slowly but surely became clear as he saw what appears to be a much older looking man with a rather stern face, wearing a trench coat of some sort.

"Right…" Subaru got up from his spot and walked in front of the man, promptly bowing in gratitude. "Thanks a lot Mister…" Subaru looked up and saw a familiar symbol as he looked closely at the man's hat.

The sickle and hammer. The emblem of the USSR. The Soviet Union.

Subaru instantly became confused.

"A-Are you Russian?"

Reznov eyes widened a bit, hearing that from the strange looking boy. He had some suspicions.

"Indeed I am. May I ask what's the name of the country you are from since you know of Rossiya…" Reznov asked as he stared into the boys eyes. He could probably guess from what oriental country he was from. But the clothes sure didn't match.

"Japan," Subaru replied. "To think someone other than me is brought her to this new world..."

'Japan…' Reznov thought. It was the one enemy country the Soviet Union did not totally invade during the second great war due to Americans pressure and show of force.

However, he did encounter some Japanese during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria as he and his forces helped push their forces back into Japan, driving them out of China.

…

"For a Japanese, you are sure wearing some odd clothes… New western style perhaps?" Reznov commented on his track suit. The Japanese he knew wore either western styled clothing like everyone else at the time or traditional asian garbs.

Subaru retorted back. "Well I don't think a lot of Russians wear the soviet emblem anymore since it dissolved over twenty years ago."

That comment raised some questions in Reznov. As far as he knew, the Soviet Union was still well and alive when he was around.

"That's impossible… I was there when it was around… and it's still is."

Subaru rubbed his chin.

"Hmmm… Oh… I think I get it now…" he said as something clicked in his head. He had to confirm an odd theory.

"Mister… what year are you from?"

Reznov closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"I know I have spent over eighteen years in the Gulag… So 1945…" Reznov continued to mumble to himself.

"About 1963 I suppose.."

Subaru jaw slacked for a bit as he was looking at what possibly could be an actual hardened war veteran of the Second Great World War. On top of that, from the USSR.

"Mister, from where I'm from, it is already well into the 21st century," Subaru explained.

Reznov pondered for a moment.

"So… is the world.. our world… still okay?"

Subaru thought the question was a bit silly but soon realized that he was born into one of the most peaceful eras in history. The Russian lived and fought through a war-torn era with fear of nuclear obliteration. He supposed his fears were justified.

"Yeah… other than a few wars with small countries… the world powers are at peace for the last 50 to 60 years so far. The Soviet Union dissolved a little over 20 years ago due to political and economic reasons but other than that, I guess the people are fine."

…

At this… Reznov smiled.

'Mason… you did it after all. You've succeeded.' he thought.

If the world hasn't ended, then that means global conflict between the US and the USSR never happened. The evils of Dragovich, Kravchenko, and Steiner did not win. He owed it all to Mason.

He snapped out of his stupor.

"That is good news then boy… Thank you… You put my heart at rest knowing the world and my country are still okay."

….

"Ahem-"

The two turned to face the half-elf girl.

"I don't know what you're both talking about but it seems you two are now well acquainted with each other…" she said. "With that, I must leave now. Take care. Try not to get into more trouble by walking into deserted alleys now because I won't help you next time as it simply won't benefit me," as she turned to leave.

Reznov was slightly confused on why she suddenly acted so cold. Was it because she really was in a hurry after all? This did not sit well with him.

"She's always like this…" a new voice said.

Subaru turned to see a floating small cat. "Woah!"

"Relax boy… the cat is her companion is all."

"Sorry about her sounding insincere, she's just in a hurry to find something important she lost" said Puck.

...

Subaru thought for a moment.

"Insincere? I don't think so," he said. "She went out of her own way to ensure I was properly cared for, and made such a lame excuse so that it seemed that I don't have to owe her anything," as he grabbed his shopping bag and jacket. "Someone like that is just gonna waste away their life!" he proclaimed, grinning while running after her.

Reznov smiled, surprised of the boy's antics as he agreed with him. The girl obviously didn't wanted to make others feel indebted to her, which explains her sudden rashness to up and leave.

Reznov picked up his sack, and ran after the young man and girl. Someone's got to be the responsible adult around here.

* * *

"Hey! Wait up!" Subaru yelled to the half-elf.

The girl turned around. "Look, I'm in a hurry. I can only spare a few minutes for you."

Subaru grinned. "You lost something right? Well let me help you in return for treating me!"

By this time, Reznov finally caught up to the two. "Indeed. Do not think your kind heartedness will go unnoticed. Let us both help you in return for helping us both, no?"

The girl felt indecisive.

"Just accept their help will ya? I feel no malice from them after all," Puck said while floating nearby. "The more shields for you against ruffians, after all," he said as if trying to scare the two off.

Reznov remained unimpressed by the talking cat.

"So tell us, what is it that you lost that was so important to you?" he asked.

The girl hesitated to tell but decided to anyways, deeming them at least somewhat trustworthy despite just meeting them.

"Well… I was following a thief who stole an important item from me and chased him or her down an abandoned alley. That was when I lost track of the thief and met you both…"

"And the item in question?"

The girl replied. "An insignia. About this big with a small red gem in the center," as she made a small shape with her hand, indicating its size.

"Must be really important if you are going to such an extent as this…" Reznov pondered aloud, curious on why the item was held at such importance.

"So that settles it! We're all going to help find it!" Subaru exclaimed excitedly. Reznov took note of the boy's strange yet energetic behavior as he found it weird.

"Besides, I believe I caught a good look at the culprit, and it's a young girl. Probably in her teens. Small body, blonde hair, and red eyes."

Emilia smiled hearing of the new leads in aiding for the search for the lost insignia.

"Geez… You two can be persistent… Fine. You can help me, but don't expect any payment or favors back."

Reznov shrugged as he was already grateful for her helping him out with information. After he was done with this favor, he would set off to settle down in this new life of his. The boy however…

"That's fine! It's my personal goal to achieve at least one good deed per day anyways!" he exclaimed while pointing up one finger.

Reznov sighed at the boy's antics. Never has he seen anyone so boisterous. Perhaps even a bit annoying... Are all the young people of his generation so awkward?

"Perhaps we should all reintroduce ourselves…" he suggested, causing Subaru to sweatdrop while the half elf shrunk back a bit.

"And please try to introduce yourself normally…" Reznov added.

Subaru sighed. "My name is Natsuki Subaru…" he said a bit dejectedly. "But you can just call me Subaru."

Reznov nodded. "I am Viktor Reznov."

The two men looked at the half elf, waiting for her introduction as she seemed hesitant to answer.

"My name… is Satella.." the girl said softly.

…

Off to the side, the spirit familiar known as Puck, jaws dropped in disbelief.

Subaru did not notice this but Reznov took note of this weird reaction to that name.

The young man remained oblivious.

"A beautiful name for a girl like you," he said smiling.

The half elf blushed a bit at the statement and shrunk away in embarrassment. "Geez… You're such a dummy…"

All of this only made Reznov more curious. Was she trying to get a sort of reaction from him?

Reznov looked the position of the sun in the sky. If this world was close to anything like his original regarding time, it was already considered past midday.

"We should get a move on soon if we want to make any progress looking for that thief," he suggested.

With that, the three departed to search the Capital.

* * *

For the next two hour, Subaru and the half elf girl looked around buildings and asked people on leads to the girl in question. No progress was made sadly. Perhaps he should make a suggestion to speed things up.

"Subaru, was it?" Reznov asked in which the young man nodded. "How was the thief dressed?"

Subaru scratched his head, trying to remember. "She looked a bit dirty and wore minimal clothing that had tears in them. Come to think of it, most of her accessories seemed pretty worn out…"

With that, Reznov decided their next location to search. "If someone is dressed like that, then we must search the lower income areas I believe… Is there any place here that resembles a downtrodden area?"

The girl decided to speak up. "I believe there are a slum area in the outskirts of the Capital… I never went there though…"

Reznov replied. "If I were a thief, that is where I would want to go to hide out and sell stolen goods…"

The two thought about it and found his logic very plausible. The slums were next on their list to search.

The group decided to take a detour and take the somewhat scenic route through the capital to reach the slums. It was quite an enjoyable endeavor as Reznov could see more of this world and the wonders they had to offer. If he had to compare it to something, he could describe it as a Medieval Society born in a fantasy. No… close to being a Napoleonic Era. Yet they had things prominent to his world such as public bathrooms, transportation (Albeit via carriages), and marketplaces.

'I suppose this world will be a decent change compared to my old one…' he thought to himself.

The half elf decided to stop all of the sudden as she looked to her left. Curious, the men turned to see what she was staring at.

A small girl. Possibly under eight years of age. Green hair with a small pink dress and brown boots. She looked around erratically as people simply walked by her without a care.

"That little girl, do you think she is lost?" she asked.

The green haired girl looked like she was about to cry.

"Shouldn't we do something?"

Subaru immediately clasped the half-elf girl's hand. "You said you were pressed for time. So about we split up from here at the moment? Reznov can stay back and help her while we both go find your insignia! We can meet up later!" Subaru suggested.

"What do you think Reznov?"

"I think tha-"

"Great! I knew you were dependable!" Subaru exclaimed now dragging away the half-elf in search for the missing insignia, leaving behind Reznov to attend to the young girl.

"..."

Reznov sighed at the boy's antics. Probably just wanted to be alone with the girl. Typical young men.

Nonetheless, he approached the little lost girl, towering over her.

The green haired girl meeped at the sight of a taller man with a scary face, tears threatening to burst out. The last thing anyone wants is an unnecessary outburst.

"Shh. Ssh. Ssh. Little girl. No need to cry," Reznov tried his best to calm her down. He wasn't really the best dealing with little kids but he will try anyways. He decided to look through his pack for something to offer to calm the child. Funny how he had the pack but never once looked until now. He dug his hand into the pack and felt around. He felt a long cylindrical object in his hands as he pulled it out of the pack. A few German stick grenade (Stielhandgranate).

"That won't do..." he said to himself, surprised of such a thing in his pack, as he stuffed it between his belt and dug around some more in his bag..

He felt something soft and plushy.

'What the…?'

He pulled out what appeared to be a teddy bear. It looked old and worn but still in usable condition for a child. He was just trying to search for something like rations to give to the child but this was even better!

What other things did he have in his pack? For that he will search later as he felt a myriad of items.

"Here. If you stop crying, I'll let you have this," he offered the plush toy to the small girl whose eyes lit up a bit. However, he saw she was hesitant to accept the present. Her parents must've taught well enough not to trust random strangers immediately. But with some coaxing, the man was able to convince the girl to accept it as he hugged to plush against her small body.

The girl had finally ceased her frantic behavior. Reznov smiled. "Are you lost little one?"

The girl nodded in reply, still a bit shy.

"Come. Let us find your parents."

He stood up and offered his hand to the small girl which she slowly accepted.

Without any further words, he turned and departed. He trust the two who previously left won't cause any trouble while he was gone, but couldn't help but feel something was going to go amuck with that boy around. Not that he doesn't trust Subaru or anything but he face and personality seems to ask for more trouble than it's worth.

Putting his thoughts behind him, he began focusing again on finding the little girl's parents. They must be worried sick.

They both walked around the various marketplaces and stalls as Reznov kept a studious eye around. They both kept this up for at least twenty minutes.

Suddenly the girl slipped out his hand as she ran to a familiar market stall.

"Papa!" She yelled running to well built green haired man. It was the very same person who gave him the apple (Appa / I don't care) earlier today.

"What the? Plum, you're supposed to stay with your mom! Did you get lost?" He said somewhat worried for his child, but happy she made her way back home. But he knew she wasn't clever nor brave enough to pull it off on her own yet. So who led her back here?

The fruit vendor known as Kadoman looked up and smiled seeing a familiar man.

"Greetings comrade. I suppose I'll be repaying my debt earlier than expected," he said smiling a bit.

"Yeah. No kidding. Thanks for finding my kid," he replied. "Anything I can do for you?"

Reznov nodded.

"I do have a question."

"Go for it."

"It is regarding stolen items. An associate of mine had something stolen from her by a thief and is currently looking for it. You know of any places it will likely turn up? I have already suspected the slums but a exact or general location would be great information."

Kadoman rubbed his beard. "Well… there is a place called the 'Stolen goods warehouse'. Perhaps you can find what you're looking for there. But it will likely come for a price unfortunately. And yes, it is located in the slums. It is perhaps the most prominent looking building there near the city wall."

Reznov thought for a bit. "Yes… that is good. Thank you for your help comrade. The kids would be happy to hear of this…"

Kadoman grinned to himself. "You yourself admit that you're a foreigner and yet in a few hours you've already made yourself some friends. I'm impressed."

"Da. Two young ones as a matter of fact. I think one was the weird boy you saw earlier today, and a girl with silver hair named Satella. She is too nice for her own good."

At that, Kadoman frowned and pulled in the Russian in a hushed tone. "Look buddy, since you are a foreigner who has clearly been living under a rock, I'll give you a break here but THAT name is really taboo. Satella is the name of the witch of envy."

Reznov grew confused. Was Satella kind of like the Baba Yaga of this world?

"So whoever is using that name, is clearly not telling the truth. No parent in the world in the right mind would ever name their kid THAT. I would steer clear of this new friend of yours if I were you honestly," he said, finally letting go of Reznov.

Reznov did not know what to say. Other than being extremely confused that a Witch named Satella was extremely taboo around these parts and the fact that his new acquaintance named herself that indicated that she wasn't telling the truth.

He had to hurry back. He needed an explanation and an answer from her.

"Thank you for your help comrade. I know we will cross paths again in the future," he said departing, as he decided to hustle to the slums. He had a gut feeling something bad was going to transpire.

* * *

"Eh.. Subaru.. Are you sure leaving Reznov behind like that was a good idea?" The half-elf asked.

"He'll be fine. I think he's a little more resourceful than you give him credit for. He'll catch up soon. Honest," Subaru replied. In actuality, he felt uncomfortable about the man despite owing a debt of gratitude towards him. But he really also wanted some time alone to get to know the girl, Satella, better without the gaze of the man watching over him. Reasonable? No. Selfish? Very.

For the past half hour, they had been searching throughout the area, looking for anything remotely suspicious or at least to have lead to the stolen item in question. When finally they approached a man who lived in the neighborhood and asked a few questions.

"Eh? Did Felt steal something again?" the man asked when have been told the description of the thief. "Well, you'll probably find the thing you're looking for in the Stolen Goods Warehouse, down by the wall over yonder," he said pointing them in the right direction. "You'll probably have to negotiate for it though…"

Subaru smiled hearing the answer to their dilemma at hand. They two departed as they bid the man farewell. They now knew the culprits name was a young blonde haired girl named Felt.

'It was going to be sunset in an hour or two,' Subaru though as he and the girl arrived in front of a large looking, rundown building.

"Why do I have to pay for something that was stolen from in the first place…?" the half girl mumbled as she looked upon the building.

"I guess that's just how things go by here…" Subaru replied as he hatched a good idea.

"Oh. I know! I can negotiate back for you!" Subaru suggested, the half girl taken aback.

"Oh. No no. I can't ask that of you. We've only just met and it would be a lot more trouble for you down the road..."

"It doesn't matter. As long I get to see your smile, then it's all okay with me!" he proclaimed, grinning like an idiot.

"... Geez… You say the weirdest things sometimes… But I still don't like the idea."

Subaru grinned. "Hopefully things will work out in the end. I promise," he said as he approached the double doors of the building. He knocked loud and hard.

"Hey! Anyone in there!? Hello!"

…

Subaru banged the door once more.

He heard heavy footsteps which was preceded by one of the doors opening.

"Alright! Alright! I hear ya. Just shut yer trap already!"

A huge figure stuck his head out door and sized up to Subaru.

"Whaddya want?" the giant asked before seeing the half elf. His eyes widened a bit.

"Silver hair… elf ears… Don't tell me you're-!"

At this the half elf raised her hands in defiance. "No no please. It's just a coincidence we have the same resemblance. I'm in no way related to that," she said calming down the giant, still a little skeptical of her. He invited both in.

* * *

They both walked into the building, seeing a myriad of trinkets and items on the walls. A bar table was the center of attention in the room as the giant went behind it and sat down in a chair. The two followed suit and sat at the table in front of him.

"The name is Rom, by the way".

The two sat next to each other at the bar table while Rom sat behind the counter, guzzling down booze.

"So what can I do ya for?"

The both the girl and Subaru nodded at each other.

"We were wondering if you knew someone by the name of Felt," Subaru asked.

Rom looked over to the pair, still sipping from his bottle. He finally set it down, after guzzling down the last drop.

"What's it to ya?"

"Well.. we're interested in purchasing an item that Felt has recently acquired and were wondering if you wouldn't happen to have it at the moment…" Subaru said to the giant.

"I see… you already know of Felt… so that means you are her client's rival… Well at the moment, she isn't here, but you're also gonna have to fork over a lot of dough to buy whatever it is she has I suppose, to get her to sell to you instead..."

"Haha. No use sizing me up. We're broke as we come…"

"Then there is no use talking about it then," the giant said bluntly.

"I am broke but I am willing to trade something in exchange, perhaps very valuable to you after all…" Subaru said trying to goad the old giant.

"Hmm… Well you do have some strange items there," Rom motioned towards the plastic shopping bag Subaru had.

The whole exchange ended up with Rom eating all of Subaru's convenience store snacks.

Subaru sighed internally.

Rom gulped down the last of the corn chip snacks. "Well, Felt should be swinging by soon. Best for you two to wait for her here."

* * *

Reznov panted as he continued jogging, pacing himself to get to his intended destination as fast as he could. The Slums. He needed to regroup with the kids. But the way the streets were aligned confused him a bit.

Reznov narrowly avoided a collision with a dragon carriage as the coach man berated him. Reznov did not care however. He felt something was wrong. He shall listen to his intuition like he should've years ago, before the betrayal.

The sun was getting in position to set.

* * *

Subaru and the half elf sat, side by side, in front of the Stolen Goods warehouse as they continued to wait for the girl known as Felt to arrive.

Subaru looked around. Trash and junk strewn like nobody's business, the filth and stench permeated in the air a bit, and onlookers simply sat down with lifeless eyes. Curious children, barefooted, wearing tattered clothes simply walked about or shrunk back inside their houses due to their timid nature.

"I guess every world has its poor living about…" Subaru said to himself. Feeling some sympathy towards them and their situation. There were some genuine good to heart people here mixed with criminal elements and degeneracy. This was the slums. All they can do is fend for themselves here.

'Was this Felt girl the same way?' Subaru thought, beginning to feel bad for her.

"Subaru... SUBARU!" the girl next to him repeated over and over, snapping him out of his daze.

"Remember to stick to the plan, you go inside with the thief, confirm she still has the insignia, and that's when you give me the signal t-"

Subaru raised his hand to stop her.

"It's fine. No need to go that far. I'll simply trade for it back like I said before," he said to the disapproving girl.

"Why would you go that far for me? You know they will charge some ridiculous price for it, and I cannot possibly compensate you if you go through with it" she said chastising him.

"You trust me, don't you? As long I get to see your happy smile, I'm fine with anything," Subaru said flashing his teeth.

The girl was certainly taken aback once more by his odd yet positive attitude. "Geez… Subaru you dummy… but… if you insist, I have no other choice than to believe in you," she said, getting a positive approval from the boy.

Emilia began to walk away. "I'll be observing from the rooftop incase something happens while you're in there once this 'Felt' girl comes. Goodluck."

With that, the half-elf disappeared behind the building.

Subaru sighed to himself as he sat down onto the steps of the building once more.

"What a crazy day I'm having. I wonder how Reznov is doing… Hopefully he catches up soon," he said to himself starting to feel bad for abandoning him like that.

Not a minute later passed by when finally a small blonde haired girl with ruby eyes finally appeared before him.

"Hey you. You're in my way. What are you doing here for?" The girl known as Felt asked to the suspicious looking man in her point of view.

"Felt!" Subaru exclaimed happily.

The girl grew a little more confused. "Do I know you?"

Subaru sulked a bit. "Well.. No.. but- that's not the point!" he replied. "I'm just simply here to negotiate for the insignia that you have."

"Is that so…?" the girl looked down and thought a bit before smiling. "Very well!" she said smiling. "Follow me."

The girl began her ascension up the steps and up in front of the door. She knocked and waited patiently. A voice suddenly spoke.

* * *

"For a rat?"

"Poison," she replied.

"For a white whale?"

"A harpoon."

"To the noble dragon lord we are?"

"Shitbags."

The door immediately opened with Rom standing behind it, all sober.

"Sorry to keep you waiting old man Rom, I had other business to attend to," she said as she walked in with Subaru in tow.

"Say, where's the other girl that was with you?" Rom asked the young man.

"Oh, she had something else come up so left the negotiating to me," Subaru slyly lied to the giant in which the old man accepted the answer.

The trio made their way to the bar table as Rom poured something for Felt to drink.

She gulped it down and made a displeased face. "Old man Rom, did you water down this milk or something because it tastes nasty."

The giant merely huffed. "Hey, I give you something from the goodness of my heart and you call it gross?" as he patted the small girl's head.

Subaru merely sat there watching. "Wow, you guys seem closer than I thought. I feel kinda left out here," Subaru joked as the three continued on with their socialisation.

"So, how much are you willing to pay for it?" Felt asked.

"Geez, straight to business I see. Well, I have no money," Subaru admitted unashamed.

The girl started to exclaim, "Then we have no business to discuss!"

Subaru raised a finger. "I do not have any form of cash on me but I am willing to trade something in return for the item in question," as he grabbed something from his pocket.

Both Rom and Felt looked at the mysterious object the black haired boy pulled out. It was nothing like they have ever seen. A small grey object with a sleek appearance.

The object began to suddenly flash and make some odd noises.

"Hey! Hey! That's bright! Whaddya trying to do? Blind me?!" Old man Rom exclaimed.

"Yeah! And it made some weird noises too!" Felt said as well.

Subaru simply snickered as he showed what he had in his hand to the confused duo.

His flip phone.

The duo could only gaze in amazement as an image of them was produced on the mysterious new device.

"You see here, this device captures a moment in time and stores it inside here!" Subaru explain the concept of a camera to them as the two briefly looked each other to discuss pricing.

"This… This thing is what I think to be called a Metia… they are extremely exotic and rare. It would not be unusual if they were to fetch a high price… I'd say one can at least get twenty sacred coins with this!" Rom deducted with his skills as an appraiser of items.

"So it's settled then! I trade this for the insignia! A deal is a deal don't ya think?!" Subaru exclaimed as he got out from his seat waiting for the exchange.

"Hold it!" Felt yelled out. "While your offer is most generous, I can't simply shrug off my other client, after all, they did request me to steal this insignia, so it would be wrong to not hear an offer from them afterwards," Felt explained to the young man as he slouched in disappointment, knowing this was going to probably more difficult than he thought.

* * *

However, suddenly a loud crash was heard as part of the ceiling collapsed. Subaru simply curled up in response while Felt and Rom took cover behind the counter as dust and debris kicked up everywhere.

Subaru coughed and winced as he tried to swat away the dust blocking his line of vision only to see two figures standing off. One white, the other in black.

It was the half-elf girl taking a stance as her spirit, Puck, floated by. On the other side, a woman with black long haired that was braided to her backside, draped with a dark cloak with a revealing dress underneath, wielding what appeared to be twin blades.

"What the hell is going on here..?" Subaru asked aloud as two heads popped out from behind the counter, both Felt's and Rom's.

"Oh my…It seems quite the small crowd has gathered here... It looks like I will just have to kill you all," the newly arrived stranger said without any falter in her voice. She was serious. At this, Subaru began to have a cold sweat, fearing for the worst.


	3. The Wolf vs The Bowel Hunter

In the Previous chapter:

Subaru and the half-elf sets off to find her lost insignia while leaving behind Reznov to tend to a lost girl. As they were finally able to track down the thief to a local warehouse selling stolen goods, they encounter a dangerous new character who is hell bent on killing them all.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Wolf vs The Bowel Hunter

* * *

"What the hell!?" the girl known as Felt popped out from behind the counter to confront the assassin. "Didn't you hire me in the first place?! Why do you want to kill us?!" she exclaimed in confusion.

The assassin merely licked her lips. "Quite simple really. You've failed your task. And those who are of no use to me are simply disposed of," she said she readied her blade.

Ice shards began to rain down upon as she weaved left and right to elegantly dodge them all, even deflecting some with her blade. She looked up and saw the floating cat spirit known as puck.

"Are you a spirit?" She asked. "Because I never split open the guts of a spirit before," she added while blushing. She was clearly excited. The ice shards continued to rain down upon her.

The assassin took every chance to charge the half-elf but was deflected by a magic ice barrier every time. However, it was only a matter of time until she cracks through it.

Rom, Felt, and Subaru merely watched the battle unfold in front of them, unable to do anything at the moment.

"She can sure handle this herself can she?" Subaru commented.

"Yes. I suppose. However, I do believe Spirit users have a time limit according to the sun…" Rom replied at which Subaru began to panic. The sun was setting and it began to grow darker by the second.

The great spirit, Puck, yawned in tiredness and ceased his ice shard attacks. "Sorry Lia, this seems to be my limit."

"Don't worry Puck. Thank you for your effort. I'll finish up the rest here," she replied.

The cat spirit began to close his eyes. "Yes, yes. Just don't be afraid to use your Od and if something does happen, don't forget about our contract," he said as he vanished into the green stone pendant the half-elf was wearing.

The half-elf readied herself once more as she launched a few ice shards towards the assassin. The amount however really decreased as it was apparent she was really reliant on her spirits. The assassin took advantage of this situation and broke through the girl's ice shield and kicked her into a wall, temporarily incapacitating her.

At that moment, the giant man jumped into the fray with his giant wooden club as he swung furiously at the assassin.

"I've never danced with a giant before…" she commented as she clashed with Rom, matching his strength blow to blow.

"Oh yeah!? I'll show you the best dance I've got!" he exclaimed as he continued his flurry of attacks. However, he made the fatal mistake of opening himself to an attack as he put all his might into a single blow that left him vulnerable. The assassin had jumped onto his club and was about to bring down her blade onto his artery.

"Old man Rom!" Felt yelled out in worry for her caretaker as she threw her short sword at the assassin, hoping to deflect her blow. However, it proved to be a feeble attempt as the assassin paid no mind to it and deflected it and slashed the giant anyways.

"Guh!" The old giant sputtered as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud, unconscious.

Subaru fell onto his back as he began to cower in fear a bit from the assassin as she made her way slowly towards him, blade ready at her side. Subaru has never been more scared in his life. He looked around quickly to survey his situation. Felt was also frozen in fear, Rom was down for the count, and the half-elf still seemed to be recovering from the assassin's last attack on her.

'Please… Anyone… Save us..' Subaru thought as he saw the assassin tower over him with her blade raised to strike him down.

* * *

 **"URRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**

All attention turned to the front of the door at where stood a man, who can be described as unleashing hellfire as a ear splitting noise ripped through the room. Both Subaru and Felt winced at the sound as they covered their ears due to the pain the noise made and pressure felt from the other side of the room. The confused assassin quickly brought up her cloak in defense but was gunned down anyways by a hail of bullets as they all ripped through her body, leaving blood to splatter all over around her. She sunk down, unmoving as she laid seemingly defeated, dropping her blade.

The rapid hellfire ceased as only clattering of metal shells clinked all over the floor. The man stepped through the doorway, boots making their heavy footsteps across the floor board. The man held what appeared to be a rod made of Iron and wood and it smoked from its frontal end. The familiar form of a bulky man with a heavy coat appeared as Subaru sighed in relief. The man's name was Viktor Reznov.

…

…

"You had a damn machine gun this entire time?!" Subaru blurted out to the Russian who saved his life just now.

"It is technically a Submachine Gun since it fires a pistol cartridge but yes, I was carry this the entire time you met me if you were more observant…" Reznov retorted as he kicked the unmoving body of the assassin, making sure there was no reaction. He walked past it and extended his hand towards Subaru, helping him up onto his feet.

Felt could only stand there, jaws gaped wide open as to what happened. "What the fuck was that all about!?"

"He saved our lives. That's all that matters," Subaru said as he turned around to see the half-elf girl finally recuperated. However, she seemed to pull the giant aside as she placed her hands onto his wounds, a bright glow came from them.

"Isn't he from the group that stole your insignia? Why are you helping him?" Subaru asked.

"He needs to answer to his crimes. However, after all that he has done right now, this is the least I can do for him," she replied still focusing on the giant's healing.

Subaru sighed in relief as all this was coming to a close. He looked back to Reznov was simply stood there looking around. However, what he doesn't notice was a rising figure coming from behind him. It was the assassin!

"Behind you!" Subaru cried out as he tackled the old veteran to the side as a blade grazed Reznov's left arm.

"Argh!" Reznov winced in pain. He thought he killed that bitch!

The two landed roughly on their sides as the assassin moved with a small limp. Her wounds however, were beginning to slowly close up.

"My, my. You surely did surprised me with that one. What kind of magic was that? So loud and fast. To even rip through my magical cloak…" she said, ripping off her torn cloak and tossing it to the side revealing her tight fitting and rather most revealing dress, leaving little to the imagination.

The men quickly got up and readied themselves for the next clash between them and the assassin.

"What are you?" Reznov asked, still reeling in surprise that she survived his onslaught of gunfire.

The woman simply replied. "I'm complicated."

Reznov quickly looked at the half-elf who was stilling trying to heal the unconscious giant. She was beginning to worry and stop the healing process to help deal with the assassin.

"Finish healing him! We'll handle her!" he yelled out to the girl in which she hesitantly nodded, focusing all she can on the spell.

Subaru turned his attention to Felt. "Felt! Run and get some help! Hurry!" he cried out at which she nodded and dashed out the front door past the assassin at a blinding speed. She needed to do this for Rom, she thought.

The assassin licked her lips once more in anticipation. "Your guts will look so pretty once I disembowel you. You will after all pay for what you did to me," she said. "My name is Elsa Granhiert. The bowel hunter. And yours?" she asked after introducing herself.

Reznov put his hands to his side and unsheathed his machete while Subaru picked up Rom's club.

"Viktor… Viktor Reznov," he said pointing the blade at her, never once taking his eyes off her.

"Well then, prepare yourself!" she said as she readied herself as well.

…

'This isn't good…' Reznov thought. His PPSH-41 was knocked away when Subaru tackled him away from Elsa and was currently out of reach. Also with his injured arm, he might not be able to shoot as well either… The woman was monstrously strong as he observed her defeating the giant man earlier before arriving. There was very little chance he can come out on top in this fight if it were just limited to hand-to-hand combat. They both were at a disadvantage.

"RAAHH!" Subaru cried out as he charged head on to Elsa swinging his club while she dodge every single swing.

Reznov jumped into support Subaru, swinging his Machete at her but was easily deflected by her blades. Elsa was able to easily kick Subaru off to the side leaving Reznov to face her alone for now.

He lunged forward with his blade but was quickly once again deflected by Elsa's own as she swiped and knocked his machete out from his hand as it embedded itself onto the high ceiling. He was now wide open and defenseless towards an attack.

"A pity… I thought this would be more interesting..." Elsa said as she lunged forward to slash at Reznov's abdomen.

"Not so fast!" a voice yelled as a figure jumped in the way blocking her strike. It was Subaru who finally recovered from Elsa's kick. Unfortunately for the both of them, Elsa worked around their guards, avoiding all their attempts at punching her out and in return backhanded both of them into a wall nearby.

Reznov groaned in pain as he looked to his side, checking on Subaru. "You alright?" he asked Subaru.

The boy nodded in response, while also in pain. "Yeah… I think I can still fight!"

Reznov suddenly cursed himself. He had forgotten he had a holstered pistol in his belt with two stick grenades. A plan was finally hatched in his mind. But they only had one shot at it. Elsa seemingly waiting for them to get up.

"Subaru… I need you to trust me."

"Yeah… What is it?" the boy asked.

"I need you to charge at her one more time, create an opening for me," he whispered. "Can you do it?"

Subaru hesitated. However, based on Reznov's recent actions, he had to trust him. "Alright. I trust you."

They both got up at once. Reznov readed for his plan and he drew out his Tokarev Pistol while Subaru grabbed the club once more, ready to charge Elsa one last time.

"Alright, I am going to put everything I have into this!" he exclaimed charging at the woman once more.

Elsa merely stood still, completely calm and uncaring. "My, you have the spirit and tenacity…" as she side stepped Subaru letting all his swings miss. "But you lack the strength and technique…" Elsa said as she raised her blade for the last time, ready to cut down Subaru once and for all.

Suddenly another loud crack came from the side of the room and Elsa felt multiple projectiles enter the side of her torso and arm as Reznov fired his pistol at her, interfering with her final blow.

Elsa was honestly getting annoyed by this man. Someone so ordinary and weak as him keeps interfering. Blood filled Elsa's lungs as she was momentarily stunned for a moment. She had to wait just for a moment for her healing factor to kick in, then she will slaughter them all.

However, in that moment, the man charged at her and tackled her pushing her across the room and into a wall.

Elsa's wounds had finally healed up.

She brought her leg up and viciously thrust kicked Reznov across the room once again, knocking the wind out of him, slamming him into Subaru as they both ended up on the other side of the building.

"I grow tired of your toys and tricks. I'm ending this now. Any last words?"

From here the situation looked dire for the two. They were both completely tired and battered from fighting her and she was finally getting serious. She planned to end this now.

"He...Hehe… Hahaha…" Reznov chuckled to himself. Subaru merely thought he had a death wish.

This was perhaps the first time someone laughed in the face of death, especially in front of Elsa. She was slightly confused. Why is he laughing?

Reznov took a final deep breath in.

"No. But sorry… You lose," the old veteran said while pulled over a wooden round table to cover both him and Subaru.

In that split second, Elsa felt something attached to the braids of her hair. Two stick like items. And they sound like they were quietly sizzling. Her eyes widened in surprised. She was tricked once more.

What happened next was what was described as blood bath.

* * *

A loud explosion filled all around the room and the half-elf girl had covered her ears, suspecting what was going to happen next. She had finally finished healing the giant and was going to jump in and help but was surprised to be greeted with a loud explosion, causing her ears to ring.

More dust and debris kicked up in the air mixed with guts and blood of the assassin known as Elsa.

Elsa's blade embedded itself onto the table Reznov and Subaru shielded themselves by the explosion. The man rolled away the table to see his handiwork.

The dust finally settled as what appeared to be a bisected figure of Elsa with her upper torso blown apart with her lower half blown away to the other side of the room.

Subaru, new to the sights of gore and the copper smell of blood threw up on the side.

Reznov picked himself up and walked to the upper half of Elsa.

Amazingly, she was still twitching and moving. She groaned in pain and anger as she was once again tricked by a complete nobody. Someone as strong as her lost to someone she considered weak in her standards. It was a complete humiliation.

Elsa continued to groan and hiss, unable to make out a single word as both her mouth and arms were completely mangled and torn. It will take a very long time to recover from an injury like this. Even for her. She was now completely at the mercy of the Russian.

Victory belonged to Reznov and friends.

The man went and retrieved his PPSH-41 and slung it over his back where it belonged.

Subaru finally inquired. "What the hell just happened?"

Reznov gave a wry smile. "When you created an opening, I charged in and tangled two grenades into her hair. I managed to pull both string fuses when she kicked me across the room into you. What happened next is really explanatory," as he motioned to all the blood that was splattered across half the room.

The man slowly walked over to the bar section and began to look through the selection of bottles. Uncorking some bottles and taking a whiff.

"Aha. This one will do," the man said to himself as he walked over to Elsa and poured the contents all over her.

'Is he mocking me?' she thought.

The stinging sensation was felt all over her body due to the alcohol. But she paid no mind to it as she simply never averted her eyes to the man above her.

"I cannot allow you to live to claim another victim to your evils. Any last words, _Svoloch_?"

Reznov retrieved a small pack from his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a small stick with a red tip. He struck it against the box as a small fire was lit on top of it. She finally realized what he was going to do. He was going to burn her alive.

Moments passed by with not a sound coming from her. She was not going to beg for mercy and go down kicking and screaming like a child. She simply and stoically stared on.

"I thought not…" Reznov said as he drop the match in his hand.

Elsa watched as the lit match dropped ever so slowly, ready to set her ablaze.

She hated that man with every fiber of her being. What she would give to have revenge on him. She would pay any price.

The match was inches away from her when suddenly a gust of wind snuffed out the match and blew it away from her mangled form.

Reznov turned to the front door to see who it was this time.

* * *

"That's quite enough," a new voice said a figure in white walked towards them in a calm fashion.

The figure was a red haired male, wearing all white attire with a periwinkle trim complete with an intricate look large sword at his side.

Reznov quickly pointed his pistol at the newcomer in response.

"And you are?"

The red head cleared his throat. "I am Reinhard Van Astrea. Imperial knight and Sword Saint of this kingdom," Reinhard said introducing himself.

Reznov, though reluctantly, withdrew his pistol and placed it back into its holester, seeming to understand Reinhard was not a threat but an ally instead.

"What brings you here on this fair night, Mr. Knight?" Reznov asked.

Reinhard smiled. "I simply came to investigate the mysterious loud noises coming from this area, and also to help a maiden in need," as he pointed behind him, revealing a small girl. It was Felt.

"Old man Rom! Is he all right!?" the young girl yelled out questioning the half-elf beside the giant.

"Yes. I managed to heal his wounds. He should be in a stable condition. He just needs some rest," she assured Felt.

* * *

"Yes, the cause the noise was the result of our fighting. As you can see here, this murdering _Mudak_ has been defeated," as he explained the situation to Reinhard.

Reznov suddenly remembered. The reason why he was in such a hurry to get back before.

He began to approach the half-elf.

* * *

"Oh! Reznov. You were quite amazing out there with Subaru. Oh dear, your arm, is it alright? Let me heal it for you," she said putting her hands on the arm wound as it began to glow softly.

"It is only a flesh wound, I will live," the older man assured her. However, that is not why I came over here.

"Eh?"

"Your real name. What is it? Why did you lie to us?" Reznov asked.

Subaru came to their side wondering what was going on as well. "Wait what?"

"I have learned that Satella is the name of the Witch of Envy, a taboo name of course that should not be uttered around these lands in general. But you say your name is Satella, which is obviously not the case," he said. "I suspect you only said that in an attempt to scare us off so that you didn't want us to feel indebted to you," Reznov concluded, hitting the nail right on the head.

"Wha? No way!" Subaru exclaimed, shocked at this small revelation.

"You didn't need to be afraid of us. We helped you because of your kindness shown to us. Today your actions spoke louder than your words. So tell us, who are you really?" Reznov said to the half-elf.

All eyes were on her now.

She began to feel a bit nervous. "M..My… name is Emilia. Just Emilia," she said as she smiled.

"I thank you two for all you have done today, your bravery saved our lives today and I believe it should be properly rewarded," she said.

A groan was heard from the room. Must be Elsa again…

* * *

"Vik..tor… REz..NoV…" the mangled half body that was Elsa sputtered out.

Reznov got up from his spot and walked toward the talking corpse. "You can talk now I see. Serves you right, doesn't it?" The Russian yanked Elsa's blade from the table and continued towards her as he pointed the blade to its owner.

"The wolf has triumphed over the Bowel Hunter. You have lost Elsa Granhiert," Reznov proclaimed as he stood triumphant over the assassin. Her hatred very apparent by her shaking. "Oh, I'll be taking this by the way, think of it as a replacement for the one you made me lost," he said waving the blade in the air while his back was turned. His first trophy in this new world.

"You are lucky to live another day. But do not think of this as a relief. I know justice will be served," Reznov added.

The knight, Reinhard, rubbed his chin.

"Hmm… Elsa Granhiert… I could barely recognize in the form you are now… however, as a knight, it is my sole duty to take you in and have you charged for your crimes," He said pulling out some rope to tie her mangled arms up. This might prove difficult to manage since she was bisected into two and pieces of her were still everywhere.

"Reznov, was it?" Reinhard questioned the Russian in which he nodded. "The successful capture and defeat of Elsa will surely be some great news to many people as he crimes are known throughout the land. Furthermore, she does indeed have a bounty of thirty sacred coins on her head. Though, I do not think I can procure that amount at this hour as it is late, if possible I can j-"

"You can send the amount to the Roswaal Estate. He will be coming with me after all," the girl known as Emilia proclaimed. My charge would be happy to hear of his deeds and would want to properly thank and reward him for his actions after all.

Reznov was a bit taken aback of hearing this news but smiled anyways. "Very well, I accept those offers."

"Oh Subaru! Don't think I forgot about you too. You played a big role in all of this as well. It would be wrong to not thank you properly either," Emilia said while Subaru grinned widely.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Emilia exclaimed as she marched towards Felt. "Please give back what you stole from me! It's important!"

Felt groaned but was appreciative of what she did for Rom. She will just this once return what she stole. "Alright…"

She took a out a small pendant like item from her pocket with a red gem center. However, in her hands, it began to glow. At this, Reinhard eyes widened.

"You. Who are your parents, what is your full name and age. Please tell me," he came close, approaching the small girl.

"Umm… I have no parents… I'm just Felt, no Surname, I think I'm around fifteen years old," feeling uncomfortable of the Sword Saint getting too interrogative.

"That's it… You must come with me please!" The sword saint grabbed the young girl's hands.

"Hey! What are you…." The girl slumped down, unconscious. Reinhard had somehow rendered the girl unconscious through touch.

The sword saint then began to sling the girl over her shoulder and rope holding the bowel hunter together.

"Leaving so soon?" Reznov said, looking at Reinhard. "You know, back home, we used to flay men for kidnapping young children."

Reinhard simply replied. "If you're concerned about the young lady, fear not, no harm will come to her. It's just something important has come up involving her. Rest assured, she will be fine."

Reznov remained skeptical but found it hard not to trust the knight. "Very well."

With that, the knight departed.

* * *

"Well guys, all's well that ends well, don't you think?" Subaru grinned. "It was a good thing I picked this up earlier or we would've all been toast," Subaru said as he lifted up Rom's club. The club however split in half from what seems to be from a clean cut. How it remained in its shape until now? Nobody knows. Subaru however…

"Uh oh."

Everyone looked at his abdomen which began to split open as he collapsed backwards onto the floor bleeding out.

Both Emilia and Reznov rushed to his side once more to save him, just like in the alley. Subaru lost consciousness again.

* * *

Ten minutes later:

"I fully closed his wounds but he will need rest like the giant over here," Emilia expained to Reznov who in turn agreed. "I see. Now comes the question how do we return to this 'Roswaal Estate'."

"Emilia-Sama!" a new voice yelled out at which Reznov groaned. "Now who is it?!"

A petite young lady with pink hair, dressed in a maid's uniform ran through the entrance and approached the three.

"I have finally found you Emilia-Sama. Quickly, we must return now, as to not worry Roswaal-Sama," She insisted.

"O-Okay Ram, but first, these two will be coming along with us," Emilia replied.

Ram sneered a bit. "But Emilia-Sama, what importance does these two ruffians have to do with you that requires them to come along with us home? One smells like death while the other is not even conscious to begin with."

'Quite the sharp tongue this one has…' Reznov noted of the pink haired maid.

"But Ram, they saved my life, it is only fair I take them both back for treatment and compensation for their actions," Emilia explained further to the maid in which made her think a bit.

The maid sighed. "Very well. I understand. We will bring back these strangers to present to Roswaal-Sama for their actions." She turned to the door.

"Come. The dragon carriage is out in front waiting for us," she motioned towards the entrance.

Reznov picked up Subaru and hefted him into the cart with Emilia, tossing in his sack and closing the compartment door.

"You're not coming in with us Reznov?" Emilia asked.

Reznov shook his head. "No. I will be at the front coach with the maid to help keep watch of the road. Besides, I wish to see more of the countryside as well," he replied as he walked towards the front. He made the mistake of underestimating this world and its dangers. Never again.

He walks up to the Ground dragon pulling the cart itself. It was a rather huge lizard to be honest as Reznov describes it, being the first time he's seen one so up close. He slowly brought his hand to the beast's head and patted it, feeling it's scaley hide.

"Are you quite done yet? We must get a move on if we want to arrive by sunrise," the maid known as Ram scolded Reznov.

Reznov nodded in response. "Yes, let us depart."

He climbs onto the coach as Ram motioned the ground dragon to move. Their journey to the Roswaal Estate had begun.


	4. Settling Down: Part I

**In the previous chapter:**

Reznov and friends, having defeated Elsa the Bowel Hunter, sets off to arrive at the Roswaal Estate where both Reznov and Subaru can be properly rewarded for their actions by Emilia's Charge/Sponsor, Lord Roswaal himself.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Settling Down: Part I**

* * *

The ride was somewhat rather uneventful for the Russian as he simply sat, a bit slouched while the maid next to him remained sitting straight up, her posture unwavering as she seemed to always present herself with dignity and grace.

Reznov paid no mind to her much as his thoughts were elsewhere. Taking in the new sights of the environment of Lugnica. What surprised him most was perhaps the lack of wind blowing into his face at the speed they were going.

The ground dragon seemed to move as fast as car on this flat terrain but he has yet to experience any rush of wind to his face due to air resistance.

Reznov flicked some wood splinters that caught onto his coat during the fight as he flicked it off into the air, only to see it zip past him at a high speed once it reached a certain distance away.

'I see…' Reznov thought. Within the radius of the carriage, nothing is affected by the air resistance of travel. Most interesting.

The one thing that he can describe about this country is its vast and wide open flat ground plains. Greens and dirt just about everywhere. Not a single mountain in sight. Travelling throughout the land must've been quite easy as the flat roads and earth provided for much ease of travel.

Reznov did a quick ammo check on his SMG. His eyebrows arched upward in surprise at bit as he felt no change in weight as he held the magazine in his hand. The magazine seemed to be entirely full still. 'How peculiar…' he thought. He was 100% certain that he sprayed the entire mag worth of ammunition at Elsa a few hours ago, yet here he was, looking down the magazine with rounds brimmed from bottom to top.

'Most strange indeed…' as he reinserted the magazine back into his gun and pulled back the bolt, skillfully snatching the ejected round in the air and chambering a new round.

In the carriage were two people. The half-elf girl known as Emilia and the young Japanese boy named Natsuki Subaru.

Both were tuckered out from their long day at the capital as they narrowly avoided death but in the end triumphed. Emilia was beginning to drift off into space after the first few hours of the ride began before finally succumbing to the blissful joy of sleep as tiredness crept over her. In her lap, Subaru lied peacefully, recovering from the wound gained from Elsa.

Small talk would now engage between the Old man and the sharp-tongued maid… Or at least, attempts.

Reznov made eye-contact with the maid as she looked at him sharply. Almost as if with dis contempt and disgust. The veteran simply gave the uncaring stare back at her.

"If you are done fiddling with that toy of yours, perhaps you can answer some questions for me," the maid asked out of the blue.

Reznov nodded in response for her to proceed. "Da."

"Are you sure you're not just some sort of ruffian?"

"Nyet. Just an old man, new to the country of course."

The maid remained skeptical.

"Are you perhaps just a freeloader whose opportunity took a turn for the better, meeting Emilia-Sama like this, taking advantage of her goodwill and naivety?"

"I am nothing of the sort. I know what hard work is…"

Reznov was beginning to grow irritated of this maid, seemingly looking down upon him at every chance she can get.

"Hmph. Very well. Just know your place, and perhaps I might tolerate your presence," as Ram ended the conversation and focused back onto the road, guiding the ground dragon.

The two did not speak to each other for the rest of the ride.

* * *

 **Hours Later:**

The carriage finally began to slow down as it approached a forest opening which lead to a bigger prospect of land, encircled by trees and greens. The Sun had barely peeked from the horizon as the carriage rode through a huge settlement which lived villagers. Some adults and elderly had already begun to awake to begin their day.

The nearby villagers looked at the Carriage arriving as they recognized it belonged to their Lord, Roswaal. They recognized the pink haired maid but were perhaps a bit curious of the new face who sat next to her. But they did not pay too much mind to it as people do come and go to visit Roswaal on occasions.

Reznov took a good look around and smiled. 'Perhaps this place can be it,' he thought before coming to attention to the Huge property he was about to enter. His eyes widened a bit in surprise as he viewed the luxurious mansion in front of him. It was as if looking at an old Chateau. Everything screamed noble and rich. Was this where Emilia resided with this Roswaal character?

The carriage entered through the gate as they slowly rode towards the front entrance where the carriage finally came to a stop. A few moments later, the double door of the entrance opened another maid with blue hair stepped out to greet the returning companions and new arrivals apparently. Reznov took note that the maids were twins as he nearly made a double take of Ram and the other maid.

Her name was Rem.

She approached the carriage with a small smile, directed towards her older twin sibling.

"Nee-Sama, I welcome you back on your safe return," Rem bowed to her elder sister in which she replied. "Yes, good to see you to beloved little sister."

Rem was quick to straighten as she saw a new arrival getting off the carriage's coach with Ram. He stood almost four heads towering of the the twins, but that really wasn't say much due to their small and petite figure. But what was most notable about him was perhaps his distinct fashion and hardened face, never have seen anyone like him before.

With not a moment to lose, the carriage door actually opened itself to reveal a now awake Emilia, with Subaru still unconscious on the carriage's interior seat.

"Good morning Rem, Ram, Reznov," Emilia said with a smile as she exited the carriage.

* * *

For the next ten minutes, Reznov assisted in carrying out Subaru and retrieved his bag from the carriage while following Ram and Emilia to a guest's room in the Roswaal mansion while Rem would park the carriage and ground dragon in its designated stable.

Reznov was instructed to stay with Subaru in the guest room as both Emilia and Ram would meet with Roswaal first before he could be introduced.

Reznov did not mind as he understood things ran differently around here so he stayed with the boy, who rested on the large bed, changed into a new set of clean bed clothes.

Reznov finally decided to look over himself as he knew we was perhaps a bit tattered looking. Especially after all he's been through last night. He would take this chance to freshen up before meeting with the Lord of this land and make a good impression.

Reznov got up from his chair and stepped up to a nearby dresser and examined himself in the mirror with a bowl of water and rag, conveniently placed for him.

He indeed did have some blood stains on his face and some on his clothing, with some tears here and there. This was definitely not a presentable nor flattering look as Reznov finally turned his attention to the bag he has been carrying since he had been to this new world.

He undid the straps tying it closed and opened it only to peer in and pitch black inside.

"I am going to have to get used to seeing the unexpected…" he muttered to himself. "Just please there be spare clothes inside at least…"

Reznov was indeed curious of the bag since the beginning. The first things he pulled out from it since arriving to this world was a stuffed animal, and German stick grenades while he was back in the capital. The stuffed animal for the lost girl and the grenades to be used on Elsa. He did wonder what other useful things were held inside the bag.

Hesitantly, Reznov stuck his hand inside and tried to feel for any object.

A few seconds passed by as he grabbed nothing but air but eventually touched something crinkly.

Deeming it safe enough to pull out, he grabbed the unknown object out of the bag and was once again, surprised and amused.

In his hands was a plastic wrapped, clean, neatly-folded soviet uniform with matching cap and shiny boots to go with it.

Reznov was mightily impressed as he ripped open the plastics and began to change into the new formal attire.

"Haha! Luck smiles upon me today!"

He removed his coat, undershirt, pants, and boots, wiping himself off with a wet rag before changing into the new uniform, fitted with a Sam Browne belt and harness. Interestingly enough, the uniform had the same ranking marks as he did back then when he was still in the Red Army as the red striped Epaulettes had five silver stars on it, indicating his rank as a Captain. It was the little things that made him smile. He strapped on his harnesses and holster over his shirt, pulled up his pants and finally put on the boots last. The entire freshening up process and wardrobe change took at least over ten minutes. But he had been waiting in the room for at least over twenty.

He looked himself into the mirror and checked all around, examining every minor and major details. He deemed himself now presentable before putting on his uniform cap with the red star and soviet emblem presented proudly on its brim.

He heard the door knock before hearing the hinges creak open. It was Ram.

She stared a bit at the now better dressed and cleaner veteran.

"It seems our dear guest really know when to make himself presentable to the master. I commend you for that. Lord Roswaal is waiting. Please, this way," Ram motion Reznov to follow as he obliged.

The two closed the door behind them to let Subaru rest while they took a few minutes to travel to the main office of this "Roswaal" character.

The ex-captain looked around and admired the Mansion and it's interior decorating. Truly something fitting for someone who was described as a nobleman. He wondered who this Roswaal person will turn out to be.

Ram knocked onto the huge door the office entrance before entering, opening the door wide for Reznov.

* * *

"The honored guest come Lord Roswaal," Ram says as she stood aside and bowed her head as Reznov enters the room, walking to a large desk with what a man described as a flamboyant clown, sitting behind it.

'Of course…' Reznov thought to himself as he can only describe the nobleman in front of him was rather akin to a clown than a Lord.

"Hellllllloooo Mr. Reznov. It is an honor to finally meet you," the man known as Roswaal said.

"I am Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers and I am the lord of this land," he introduced himself. "Emilia has told me quite some fassssssscinating things about you and the crucial actions you made in saving her. No doubt worthy of a reward."

Reznov took off his hat and placed it on his chest in respect. "It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you. My time in the country has been brief but rather exciting for an old man such as me."

"Woooow Reznov. You look much nicer than you were before!" Emilia stated happily as she admired his Dress Uniform.

Reznov chuckled. "Yes, Emilia. Formal occasion requires a formal attire, no?"

Roswaal smiled. "Welllll then, straight to business, shall we? What will it beeeee? Titles, fame, fortune? What is it that you desire, and I'll try my best to present it to you, within reason, of course."

Reznov straightened himself up and spoke to Roswaal.

"I can only assume Emilia has told everything that has transpired yesterday," in which Roswaal nodded.

"Yes. Quuiiiite the thrill that story she told me. It is no easy accomplishment to take on someone like the Bowel Hunter and live to tell the tale, let alone win. For that, a reward is surely in order."

Reznov cleared his throat.

"I am just simply an old man with no greater purpose in life now. I have left everything behind in the past and now just simply want to live in peace."

Roswaal eyebrows arched a bit. "Aahhhh…. I seeee… Although I think there is just more than meets the eye with you, I can understand where you are coming from," The nobleman said.

"With that… I know just the perfect reward for you, if of course, you are willing to accept it?"

Reznov nodded. "Let us hear it then."

"Ahhh… Woooonderfuullll…. For coming to the aid of the candidate to the throne of the great Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica, I hereby grant you a resident in my land, a perfect gift for a man with no place to call home.

Reznov smi~ 'Wait. What?'

Reznov eyes widened as he never suspected Emilia to hold such a high position in society, much less a candidate to the royal throne of Lugnica. "You? A possible future queen?" he pointed at Emilia on the side.

"Yes, she is," Roswaal added. "The Dragon Insignia is proof of her candidacy. Losing such an important item would be reaalllllly troublesome," the nobleman said as he shrugged.

"Eheheh…" Emilia chuckled to herself. "It was actually my first time in the Capital as well Reznov… I got so excited to look around that I got separated from Ram and let my guard down, leading to the insignia getting stolen."

Reznov sighed to himself. He's gotten himself involved in something really big and has now dived deeper into the fold.

"I really do appreciate your kindness Reznov. Without both you and Subaru, I don't think we would be standing where we are right now honestly. So… Thank you! I'm in your debt." Emilia smiled.

Reznov could feel the good radiance gleaming off the young girl as she literally oozed with joy and happiness. It was honestly a good feeling.

"It was nothing," Reznov responded.

Roswaal cleared his throat. "Now that everything is settled, I would like you to sign some documents so that I can grant you a residency here," as Roswaal took out some papers from his desk and scooted it across his desk to Reznov.

"Normally, one would meet the village elder and he or she would be the one to conduct this sort of business and give the papers to me for processing, but because of your special circumstance, I will do it personally for you," Roswaal explained as Reznov looked at the fine print as he briefly frowned.

"Is something bothering you good sir?"

Reznov groaned to himself a bit. "I… cannot read nor understand this…." he admitted embarrassingly.

"Oh my…" Roswaal said while putting a hand over his mouth.

"Oh dear. Such a fate has befallen our honored guest. He is now both are bumpkin and illiterate…" Ram said with little emotion. Almost as if she was looking down upon him even so than before.

Roswaal raised his hand to Ram. "It is fine… The fine print simply states that I will grant you a residency as long you follow the laws and taxes set in place," Roswaal explained as Reznov asked more in depth questions in which the nobleman answered for the next ten minutes or so.

"Hmm… I see now…" Reznov said as he thought over every terms and agreement. "Very well. I will agree to the terms and conditions." Reznov was given a small jar of ink a quill pen as he wrote his down his signature and print name in Cyrillic.

Roswaal took back the papers and checked over everything. "Interesting texts…" he said to himself, never have seen the Slavic letters before. Roswaal simply smiled as he tucked away the papers.

"Congratulations on your new home Reznov. I hope you will enjoy it here," Roswaal said. "I had especially picked a certain old resident that will fit your tastes. Nice, somewhat secluded, and quiet."

Reznov nodded to himself. 'Yes. That is just perfect,' he thought to himself.

"Ram will show you to your new residence. After that, how would you like to join us for dinner as welllllll tonight?"

Reznov thought it over for a moment. It would be incredibly rude to refuse obviously…

"I would be most honored…"

"Speeeeectacular!" the nobleman said. "Ram. If you would please?" he motioned to her.

"Yes, Lord Roswaal," she responded as she motioned Reznov to the door.

The veteran turned and walked towards the exit but turned around. "I will see you all tonight. Thank you for your hospitality," Reznov said as he placed his cap back on and exited the office.

Emilia followed suit to go see Reznov off before dinner, leaving Roswaal alone in his office, shutting the door behind her.

…

Roswaal happy demeanor soon turned a tiny bit serious.

"My, my, my…. The Gospel didn't say anything about him…"

* * *

The trio walked back to Subaru's room to retrieve the veteran's other belongings, much to Ram's annoyance of walking so much, and exited the mansion through the front entrance.

Emilia turned and faced Reznov.

"This is where I see you off Reznov. Thanks once again… for everything," Emilia said to the old man.

Reznov chuckled. "You are certainly welcome. Are you sure don't want to come with us to see the new home? You are most welcome to come visit anytime you know," Reznov offered.

Emilia looked away a bit. "Err… Well.. I do but… I- uh.. Have some important stuff to study for! Yeah, so I might not have time today unfortunately..."

Reznov raised an eyebrow, but had no reason to distrust her now.

"Understood. But my offer still stands. Feel free to come by anytime," Reznov replied. "I will see you at dinner then."

With that, Reznov turned and wave while following Ram out the gate while Emilia waved back.

…

For a moment, Reznov earlier thought he saw her a bit hesitant and perhaps… sad?

…

The former soldier and maid continued their walked down the path towards the village.

Reznov looked around some more as he walked on the nice stone road as he admired the outdoors around here. Trees just about everywhere. The forest. Felt sort of like home. He was no stranger to the outdoors as he personally preferred its tranquil feeling from outside the city life in Leningrad, his birthplace.

Reznov eyed the pink haired maid once more.

Ram began to feel irritated have eyes watching her back so intently.

"If you have something to say or ask, I suggest you do so now."

"Very straight forward you are I see…" Reznov replied. "What is Emilia's problem with coming to the village with us? Even I can tell she was lying. But for what reason?"

Ram sighed. "You ask troublesome questions but I will forgive you this once since you are an 'outsider'".

"You at least know of the story of the the Witch of Envy I suppose?" she asked.

Reznov furrowed his brows, trying to remember what he heard from Kadomon, the fruit vendor, in the Capital.

"All I know is that saying that certain name is Taboo for whatever reason…" he replied.

Ram continued on forward and kept walking and answered him, "At least you know that much I suppose. But I will give you a quick run down."

"Satella is the name of the Witch of Envy who destroyed over half world over 400 years ago. She is always described as a half-elf with silver hair. Just like Lady Emilia."

Reznov could see where she was going with this… Why Emilia made great efforts to push away people she initially meets unless they need help. To be met with animosity for looking like someone who caused such destruction so many lifetimes ago. Did everyone fear the Witch that much?

"Poor girl…" Reznov said rather sympathetically.

"Indeed. Which is why Emilia is hesitant to go to the village often because many of the adults will fear her. That will only hurt her standings in the upcoming race for the throne…" Ram said.

"I see…" he replied, pondering.

"However, you are perhaps one of the first to accept her as herself and nobody else," Ram said admittingly. "Both you and I know that Lady Emilia already considers you a good acquaintance, so I suggest you tread carefully if you decide to ruin her trust, because I will be sure to make you regret it," Ram warned.

"Feh… I would not stoop as low to upset someone over something like this, Emilia has done no wrong whatsoever… it would be terribly misguided to judge her based on her appearance" Reznov retorted.

"Good," Ram replied. "Then we are at an understanding."

Ram lead on without saying anything more, leaving Reznov to ponder on the situation.

* * *

The two had began to approach the village but came to a fork in the road. One led to the main village while the other lead off road to a decent sized cabin in a small encirclement of forest.

If one was coming from the village, it would be very hard to notice the property at all unless you came from the direction of the mansion. 'Weird,' Reznov thought to himself, but paid no mind to it as he ventured on forward with the maid towards the cabin.

It looked rather old but was in actually quite good shape to live in. The two walked in from the front entrance as Ram unlocked the door with a set of keys.

"Just to let you know, the last tenant passed away in this residence. A creepy odd fellow but never really bothered anyone. It remained unoccupied ever since. Will this be a problem?"

"Of course not," Reznov deadpanned. No sense in wasting space to live in.

"Good. I wouldn't have cared either way," Ram bluntly said as well tossing the keys to him in which he snatched midair.

She was slowly getting on his nerves… Decent around her master but wields a sharp tongue when away.

"I will be leaving you now, dinner will be served around sunset. See you then I suppose."

At that, Ram turned and left without a care, leaving the old veteran alone in the small residence.

* * *

"Feh… good riddance.." Reznov muttered to himself as he looked around. Around the cabin, there were essentials, such as a small kitchen area with a stove and food storage area, a small bedroom, bathroom area, etc…

The residence had only one exit and two windows. Absolutely everything was dusty and cobwebs littered every corner of the home. He obviously had some home improvements to do.

Crystal lights were fixed in various places of his home as they seemed to react to touch as it glowed on and off. Magic he guessed.

Reznov dusted off a wooden chair before sitting on it and took a load off. The chair creaked much to his annoyance but ignored it either way.

So much has happened since he arrived here. Meeting new friends, fighting off a deranged killer, and now finally settling down. He tossed his _Papasha_ onto the bed.

He sighed to himself.

"Is this it? Is this where I can finally settle down and live the rest of my life in peace?"

So many things ran through his head at this point. It felt like all the burden in the world has been lifted off of his shoulders.

There were no grudges he can hold onto. No orders to receive. No Glorious Soyuz to defend. Perhaps there were some regrets, but overall, everything is now behind him.

For a long time, the only thing that kept him going was his burning desire for vengeance upon those who betrayed him, but no more. He knew he had finally won thanks to Mason.

He is free.

"Oh… right."

His thoughts drifted towards the bag once more. He needed to finally take a look at all of its contents once and for all.

He unraveled the strap that had shut the bag tight and began to, or at least, tried to dump everything on the table. Didn't seem to work however… Maybe he can only pull items out one by one?

He has been aware this bag is not a normal one and perhaps is the work of this so called "Magic" this world revolves and functions around so much.

So many questions, so little answers.

Reznov once again stuck his hand into the dark abyss of the bag of wonders and felt something papery.

He pulled it out.

It was a simple small note. Reznov began to read the very neat handwriting.

* * *

"I know that things may seem a bit strange and odd to you. I know you have many questions that need answering. But we shall cross that bridge when we shall come to it. In this bag, the kids and I have given you the bare essentials (and then some) in what you need to complete the task I have entrusted you with. The task you ask? Well… It's rather complicated to explain on a small note. I'll just have to meet you soon. Take care for now. - M"

* * *

Reznov arched his eyebrows in confusion. Who is this 'M'? Is that person the one responsible for his arrival to this new world? What is this 'Task' it speaks of?

This revelation had definitely raised some red flags (pun intended) for Reznov. The old man casted himself into deep thought. 'My coming of here was no coincidence…?'

…

Reznov set aside the note and brushed off any negative thoughts of a possible existential crisis.

'Focus Viktor… Focus on what is at hand here…'

'I will not be a pawn in another sick twisted game…'

He returned his attention to the bag stuck his hand in once more, trying to forget what he had just read.

He felt around and felt something with a hard and cold surface. Like metal. He pulled but realized it had some heft to it. But fortunately it was not that heavy so he pulled out the mysterious object.

His eyes began to widen as a familiar shape was coming out the bag.

It was a Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifle with a PU scope.

He awed at the familiar weapon as it was rightfully returned to him after being separated for too long.

He did a chamber check as he worked the bolt and ejected a round, looking into the internal magazine. He counted five rounds. Four in the gun, and one on the floor at the moment.

He worked the gun's action once more to test functionality and ejected another round. Smooth like butter. The old man chuckled to himself and grinned a bit.

But wait… Something wasn't right. He now counted six rounds. Four in the internal magazine and two on the floor… This is just absurd. Is it possible his guns just won't run out of ammunition?

It had finally hit him.

So that's the reason why the magazine for the ' _Papasha'_ didn't seem to be nearly empty at all. He knew he had expended more ammunition than what the original weapons magazines would normally had. The Submachine gun only held thirty-five rounds in its box magazine while his tokarev held only eight rounds. He had definitely fired more than what was supposed to be held.

'Is this all his doing?'

Reznov could not comprehend such absurdity. But did not argue against it. He liked guns after all and not facing an ammunition problem was the soviet soldiers dire wish during the early parts of the war.

"Thanks. I guess, 'M'…"

The man continued his plundering of the 'Magical bag of wonders', he now dubbed.

He immediately grabbed the next thing he felt in the bag and pulled it out. A medium sized package. The man shook the package as he can hear the tumbling and clinking of small individual parts and such in it. It sorta was heavy like his rifle too.

He opened the flap of the box and tore off the paper cover and peered inside to grin once more as he knew what the contents were.

The very first thing he saw when opening the box was a small booklet. Or rather an instruction manual really. It just simply read: Avtomat Kalashikova.

The phrase translated to: Automatic rifle of Kalashnikov.

The AK-47.

Or to be more precise, the AK variant model, AKM, was what the box held.

Behind the manual were the rest of the parts for the weapon neatly placed in plastic baggies.

Reznov has heard of the legendary rifle's reputation while confined in the gulag. A rifle made by a man who wanted nothing more than it to be used to defend the motherland. A design so simple, yet effective to utilise and produce easily. It was the Kalashnikov. Named after its inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov, a former tanker in the Soviet Red Army during World War II. A true comrade, Reznov thought.

Only during the Vorkuta uprising and escape was when he had the chance of using such a rifle. He liked it very much. Not too much recoil, but was simple, durable, and robust. Just like how all weapons were supposed to be made. He ALMOST liked it just as much as his trusty sniper rifle.

And now here it was, just waiting to be assembled.

"I suppose I'm going to need to borrow or buy some tools to put all this together…" Reznov said to himself as he closed the package and set it aside, careful to not lose any small parts.

The man looked around and realized he might have to make more room to unload everything in the bag as everywhere just about dirty or dusty.

It was clean up time.

* * *

 **Roswaal Mansion:**

"Really? Reznov is going to live near the village now?" Subaru asked to the half-elf girl as the both of them sat in the front garden of the mansion, enjoying the wonderful morning.

Emilia nodded. "Yup. We should be expecting him tonight for dinner since Roswaal invited him as well."

"That's nice I suppose. Guess we will all see Reznov a little more often now maybe since he lives nearby," Subaru said to the girl.

Just then, the pink haired maid appeared in the courtyard and approached the two.

"Lord Roswaal has recently come back from his trip, now that our fine guest well and rested, he would like to meet the guest now."

The three then began their walk to Lord Roswaal's office in which Subaru was guaranteed to do the unexpected once more.

* * *

 **Reznov's Cabin:**

Reznov wiped his forehead from the sweat running down his face as he examined his work.

The had finally swept the wood floor from most the dirt, dust, and cobwebs in the corner. He had also just about dusted every appliance in this living space. The only thing that had bothered him the most was that damned wooden chair. He did not have the appropriate tools to fix its infernal creaking.

For the past six hours or so, he had focused on re-arranging the home to his liking and cleaning up.

He could tell no one has lived here for quite some years due to the dust that had collected up. He could not stop sneezing during the initial cleaning. He had opened the door and windows wide and let out all the dust in the home.

Reznov now stood, admiring his work as the house seemed much more alive now that all the dust was gone.

Earlier he had realized he was not dressed appropriately to do clean up duties in his Dress Uniform so he searched his bag once more and eventually found some more spare clothes. Most of them were army fatigues and t-shirts but they perfectly just fine for him as he changed into them before working on the house.

By the time he was done, he had quit beating around the bush and finally dove into the bag for the final time. He will uncover everything inside, as he had a table sprawled out in the middle of the home and sat on a chair.

While during the emptying of the bag, Reznov was indeed surprised with the myriad of items inside. Not including his Mosin and Kalashnikov rifle kit, he had pulled out two small boxes which contained a German P08 Luger pistol in one and a Walther P38 in the other. Two pistols he was very familiar with during the war.

The Luger, a beautiful pistol in his personal opinion. Though the German eagle and Nazi emblem engraved on the handle did leave a bad taste in his mouth.

The Walther P38 was more often commonly found in his opinion from German soldiers and were often incorporated into his units from captured German weapons caches. Fairly reliable, is what he would deem the pistol.

Next were a few German anti-tank weapons. But more specifically, Panzerfausts. He remember he and his men also captured some of these weapons back in the war and used them back against the German armored vehicles.

Although easily mistaken for some sort of weird club, the weapons look should not fool you as it can easily be launched at a close range and pierce tank armor. Though it was not as good as other anti-tank launched weapons at the time. One of the few silver linings was that it was simple to produce, cheap, and effective.

Reznov dug his hands into the bag once more and pulled out what looked to be a bunch of manuscripts, books, and rolled up paper. He's skimmed through a few only deduced that they looked like schematics for machine parts and other sorts. Maybe he will read through those when he REALLY gets bored, he joked to himself as he returned his attention back to the bag.

Reznov heaved as he pulled out what appeared to be a wooden frame with other various mechanical parts. It took him awhile to recognize what they all were meant to be for. An old Vinyl music player! His father used to own one of these back before the war...

"I suppose this 'M' is rather more thoughtful than I thought he'd be," Reznov said to himself as he continued to pull out even more war memorabilia from the bag, ranging from medals, ceremonial daggers, helmets, even old photos from the war.

"He or she seems to also know much about me…" Reznov once again said to himself as he looked through an old photo album containing various photos from his early youth to the end of the great war.

Reznov set aside those album and focused the bag once more. The sun was setting, marking the end of the day and the beginning of the night. He deduced he had enough time to look through the bag at least once last time before expecting one of Roswaal's servants to come knocking at his door for his dinner invitation.

Things have actually been quite content and fine this evening, despite guessing that his coming of here was indeed no accident. As long he can live in some relative peace, he did not care.

The next item he pulled out of the bag was actually the heaviest as he pulled the mystery item from the sack and unceremoniously placed it on the table in which it made an very audible metallic thunk.

Reznov examined the item in curiosity. "What is this…?"

It deduced the item to be some sort of heavy duty metallic canister. Kinda looks rather odd for a methane tank in his opinion.

The old man kept rolling around the canister looking for some sort of inscription or markings before eventually finding it.

At that very moment, his heart sunk a bit.

It was that inscription. The one he saw in that frozen wasteland, far from home. The one he could never forget as it took everything from him. He could still feel the chills run deep down in him to this very day.

…

 **"N6"**

The familiar German eagle enveloped the numbered inscription. It was the secret weapon developed by the Germans, late into the great war, but was never used in combat.

Reznov was shocked and could not take his eyes off the damn symbol.

 **Nova 6.**

Reznov settled down and slowly collapsed onto a nearby wooden chair, hands clasped into his face with exasperation.

"Why…? Why..?" he said to himself. "Why would you give me such a terrible thing? What would you have me do with this?"

Reznov's realization of living a peaceful life with the rest of his years began to waiver.

He was fine with being given the other items before, but this was a bit too much as it simply put him over the edge. No one should have such a horrible weapon such as this. He did his best to make sure of that back then in 1945 when he sunk the German freighter ship containing all of the Nova 6 those many years ago. But he merely delayed the process… having Mason finish the job for him.

A loud knock on the door quickly snapped the old man from his deep thoughts as he fumbled to quickly place the gas canister back into the sack, and stuffing said sack under his bed.

Reznov answered the door.

The familiar bright face of the boy with sharp eyes came into appearance. It was Subaru.

"Hey Reznov!" Subaru greeted with a smile. His face grew with concern however as saw Reznov seeming to be a bit stressed.

"Is something wrong?" he asked the old man.

Reznov was quick to pick on this as he straightened himself out to not cause any worry.

"None at all. Just very dusty around here in these old homes… and I have these uh… how you say… 'allergies'?" the old man said, making up an excuse on the fly.

"Oh… okay then," Subaru said, falling for his excuse. "But anyways, I just got hired as a butler for my reward! Isn't that great?!"

…

"I suppose so… for what reason however? Not like that having a job like that is a bad thing of course," Reznov asked. He did after all decided to go with a reward that gave him a new home.

Reznov now wanted to hear Subaru's reasonings for asking for employment to the Roswaal Mansion. At least, anything to get his mind off what he had discovered a few minutes before…

Subaru grinned once more. "To stay close to Emilia-Tan once more of course!" Subaru said, ever so dreamily.

"Oh…" Reznov deadpanned.

'I do not think this obsession, is very healthy… Perhaps I should have a talk to him later on if this keeps persisting…' Reznov thought to himself. He knew the boy was somewhat fond of the girl who helped saved him but to this extent…

Reznov shrugged to himself and sighed. Young men and their actions can be rather a mystery sometimes. Perhaps this applied to all the youth.

"So what brings you to my new home? Did they send to you to come escort me to dinner?" Reznov asked in which Subaru nodded.

"Yup! This is my final duty for the day before I can retire for the rest of the night actually," Subaru replied. "So let's get going, shall we?"

Reznov looked back into his cabin, eyeing the incriminating item under his bed emotionlessly before stepping out and shutting the door behind him, locking it.

"Yes. Let us go."

With that, the two began their brief walk to the Roswaal mansion.

* * *

Little did they both know, events would take a wild turn for both of their lives from this point.

* * *

 **Extra content:**

 **Reznov's weapons check:**

 _ **Mosin Nagant 91/30 Sniper Variant (PU scope)**_ \- Favored bolt-action sniper rifle of the soviet army during World War II.

Effective firing range: 800m

Cartridge: 7.62 x 54R mm

Rate of fire: Subject to user

Muzzle velocity: 875 m/s

 _ **PPSH-41** _ \- Commonly nicknamed "Papasha", this soviet Submachine gun was famed for its high rate of fire and was widely used throughout the Red Army as a weapon for close combat and was very effective during battles in urban settings. Because of it's stamped parts, it was rather cheap to produce and field to many men.

Effective firing range: 150-200m

Cartridge: 7.62 x 25 mm Tokarev

Rate of fire: 900-1000 rounds per minute

Muzzle velocity: 488 m/s

 _ **AK-47 Variant (AKM)**_ \- A Russian designed assault rifle famed for it's fire power, reliability, cost efficiency, and ruggedness. The AKM design was the first model to be made with a stamped receiver in which production cost became much cheaper to produce these rifles with as other defects were corrected with this design as opposed to the previous variant in production before. Many modern AKs are made based on this design.

Effective firing range: 300-500m

Cartridge: 7.62 x 39 mm (M43)

Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute

Muzzle velocity: 715 m/s

 ** _TT-33 Pistol_** \- Known as the "Tokarev", it was the favored pistol during World War II by the soviets as it had a reputation to handle abuse under strenuous conditions. Pistol like these were often only issued to officers.

Effective firing range: 50m

Cartridge: 7.62 x 25 mm Tokarev

Rate of fire: Subject to user

Muzzle velocity: 450 m/s

 ** _P08 Pistol_** \- Known most commonly as the German "Luger", this pistol utilises a special toggle-lock action which inserted and extracted rounds into and out of the gun's chamber and worked in conjunction with the gun's sights. They were reliable pistols despite the old design dating back to 1900 and was eventually replaced by the Walther P38 as they were cheaper to produce. They are known quite well known to be prized war trophies to allied troops during the war.

Effective firing range: 50m

Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum

Rate of fire: Subject to user

Muzzle velocity: 350-400 m/s

 _ **Walther P38**_ \- The replacement side arm for the costly P08 Luger, the Walther P38 features a locked-breech reloading action. It is the first pistol of its kind to feature both a double and single action trigger. This design would later inspire the design of many modern pistols.

Effective firing range: 50m

Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum

Rate of fire: Subject to user

Muzzle velocity: 365 m/s

 _ **Panzerfaust 60**_ \- An inexpensive, recoilless anti-tank weapon used during World War II by the Germans.

Effective firing range: 60m

Caliber: 149mm shaped charge warhead (HE)

Muzzle velocity: 45 m/s

 _ **Stielhandgranate (model 24)** \- _The standard german stick grenade during World War II that utilises a pull cord than ran through the bottom and uses friction to ignite the explosive filament inside the head. The unique stick design allowed the explosive to be lobbed farther than the average ball shaped grenade of the allies.

Effective throwing range: 25m

Kill radius: 2-3m (Shockwave) (May vary differently with metal sleeve)

 _ **Nova 6**_ \- A top secret Bio Chemical weapon created amidst World War II by Nazi Germany and was later seized and improved upon by the Soviets. Simply inhaling the volatile substance would cause a person to vomit and cough uncontrollably, bleed from the eyes, develop necrosis by blackening of skin, muscle convulsions, and a most painful and agonizing death, all within 10-20 seconds.

This weapon became dangerously close to being used during the cold war by Soviet General, Nikita Dragovich, as a grand plan to destroy the United States through sleeper agents but was fortunately stopped by Alex Mason with the initial help by Reznov by reversing his brain washing.

 _ **Northern Blade**_ \- A dark curved blade from Gusteko, formerly belonging to Elsa the Bowel Hunter. Reznov appropriated it from her as a replacement for his other machete.


	5. Settling Down: Part II

In the previous chapter, Reznov, finally having arrived to the Roswaal Estate, has met Emilia's sponsor in the up coming Royal Selection. Thanks to his heroic deed, Reznov was awarded a plot of land by him so that he may live here in peace. But a mysterious note and the discovery of a horrible weapon soon shakes his belief in a simple new life here.

* * *

Chapter 5: Settling down: Part II

* * *

"Hey…"

The man did not answer.

"Hey Reznov!" the boy piped up once more finally gaining his attention.

Reznov finally snapped up from deep thought. They both were in front of the luxurious mansion now it seemed.

"You alright Reznov?" asked the worried young man.

…

"Yes. Just a bit tired today…" the man lied.

In truth, he was still thinking about his discovery back in his cabin. The bag, the note, the canisters of Nova 6. Quite a lot for him to take in, on top of being brought to a new world for a mysterious task. Not many would blame him for acting the way he is at the moment.

"Well, not worry Reznov. Rem's cooking is the best! It will perk you right up once you get a taste at dinner!" the young man exclaimed to the old man as he opened the door, letting Reznov follow suit.

"Yes… I believe she is the blue haired twin, no?" Reznov questioned, keeping note of their names from now on.

Subaru nodded in response and began to lead Reznov towards a part of the Mansion he has not stepped foot in before. Most likely towards the dining area.

Subaru opened a single door in a lobby and revealed a fancy dining area with a large table. Sitting down was Roswaal himself and Emilia on the side.

"Aaaahhhh…. Our guest of honor has arrived," Roswaal commented, greeting Reznov.

"I'm glad you can join us tonight Reznov!" Emilia said happily.

Reznov smiled back and nodded in acknowledgement. He noticed the two maids were not present, perhaps still preparing for dinner in the kitchen…

"Please. Taaaake a seat. Dinner should be out shortly," the nobleman said to the veteran.

"Yes, of course," he responded as he pulled out the chair and took a seat across from Emilia.

There was a moment of awkward silence but soon ended as Roswaal began to speak once more.

"Soooo Mr. Reznov, I suppose you did not have trouble settling into your new home I take it?"

Reznov shook his head. "No trouble at all, everything is quite acceptable, thank you very much," he half lied.

Roswaal smiled. "That's very good to hear, wouldn't like to have any problems with our new resident now would we?"

Reznov chuckled. "Of course not."

By now, Subaru, who has returned after a brief moment to change back into his casual clothes, entered the room and took a seat next to Emilia.

Not a moment sooner, another door opened abruptly catching the attention of Reznov. Out came from the door was a another person he did not know.

She was small in stature, wore an intricate frilly dress, and had bright blonde hair styled in what can be described as twin drills. Her eyes as well! So colorful and had an interesting pattern in the iris.

"Aha! Beako! You have finally joined us for dinner now you drilled haired loli!" Subaru exclaimed in a somewhat weird outburst.

"Tch… To think I have to eat near a weirdo like you I suppose…" the small girl said. She soon noticed a new face in the room.

"So you're the one this weirdo keeps talking about," she said. "I hope you aren't as annoying as he is I suppose…"

Reznov became a bit confused. "I'm sorry, I do not think we have met yet…"

Roswaal decided to chime in. "Oh, thaaaaaaat's just Beatrice. She is the guardian to the archives of the forbidden library of the mansion," he explained as the small girl took a seat at the other end of the table, seeming to distance herself from everyone else. Reznov felt there was more than meets the eye with her.

A few moments had soon passed as the twin maids came out from the kitchen door with a cart lined with many steaming hot dishes and fancy tableware. They began to distribute the items on the cart starting with Roswaal, Emilia, Beatrice, Reznov, then Subaru.

Reznov smiled to himself. He has not had a delicious hot meal like this in a VERY long time. To be frank, the only thing he had to eat in this world was an apple from the nice fruit vendor in the capital and some rations he found in his bag earlier. Safe to say, he craved something more fresh once again.

With the tableware and meals finally distributed, the maids stood beside their master as the diners began to eat.

Beatrice, Emilia and Roswaal ate with dignity and grace whilst both Reznov and Subaru, while not as graceful, ate peacefully and politely as well.

Dinner was simply a plate served with a side of steamed vegetables with rice with slices of grilled meat.

Reznov savored every bit of food he took in. This is perhaps one of the better meals he had in his life to be honest. I guess nearly twenty years in the gulag made him even more appreciative than he was during the war.

The pitter patter of tableware meeting ceramic plates was interrupted when Emilia began to speak up from across Reznov.

"So ummm... Reznov... what do you think about living around here now in Irlam Village?"

Reznov gulped down his bite of food and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "To be honest, it is indeed much quieter than the city life I was raised in. But I am more accustomed to the forests and countrysides these days. So much more peaceful, and I like it."

"I see… Well that's nice then."

Subaru decided to jump into the conversation.

"So now that you've sort of settled down, what will you be planning to do from now on?"

…

'Good question…' Reznov thought to himself. He had just settled into his new home and did not think about what is to come next other than the mysterious note he had read earlier. Besides that, in all honesty, he needed something to do for the rest of his life obviously.

"Well, If I remember correctly, Reznov has collected the bounty on Elsa which is a surmountable amount of funds. I think he can live the rest of his life comfortably here if he wanted to," Emilia added.

Reznov raised his brows in a bit of surprise. Emilia did make it sound like the bounty from Elsa was quite a lot of money for someone his stature. She was probably right about having enough funds to live life here comfortably…

"How lucky of you Reznov. But still, even I know early retirement can be boring sometimes for someone like you," Subaru said to the Veteran.

Reznov nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. Which is why I'll probably try to find a way to contribute to the community here," he suggested. "I believe I can keep myself busy meanwhile retiring here."

"That's very thoughtful of you Reznov," Emilia said with a smile. "Say… Um…"

Reznov looked up to Emilia, curious of what she had to say.

"I was wondering if you uh…. Wanted to learn to read and write here?"

…

Reznov was a bit speechless. He had forgotten that he needed to learn some new skills if he wanted to adapt living here. Reading and writing was a MUST.

"Really? You can teach me?" he asked.

"Yeah! We already planned to help Subaru learn so that he can do his job in the mansion. I don't think that including you in the teaching plans would be too much trouble, right? Rem, Ram?" Emilia turned to the twin maids.

"Whatever Lady Emilia requests, we will obey," said the blue haired maid.

"Indeed," the other twin replied.

Emilia grinned. "Great! Think of this as my personal thanks to you Reznov. What do you say?"

Reznov chuckled. "I gladly accept your offer."

With that, the rest of dinner went on with witty and uplifting conversations with each other. By the time dinner was over, the moon had already began to show itself.

"Hey, Reznov."

"Yes?" replied the older man to Subaru.

"Before we begin our reading and writing lessons, how about we hit the baths?"

Reznov thought about the suggestion for a moment.

"Sure.. I suppose… You sure Roswaal won't mind?"

"Yeah. It's fine. After all, you are staying for lessons. Baths are always after dinner anyways. So no harm having you take one as well."

Reznov rubbed his chin. "Very well. Lead the way."

From there Subaru lead Reznov through the western wing of the mansion on the bottom floor to the luxurious bathroom. Normally it would be little awkward to to undress with people you barely gotten to know in a bathroom/house but to Reznov and Subaru, they were both indifferent to the idea. Reznov normally had little privacy when it came to fighting in the War and imprisonment in Vorkuta, while to Subaru, it was just a different culture, so things went smoothly as both stripped themselves of their clothes and entered the enormous Bathroom.

Reznov looked around and admired some of the over the top decor. Roswaal must really had some fine taste for a bathroom this luxurious.

The two men washed themselves off on a nearby stand with a faucet before entering the enormous indoor tub as steam rose from it. A hot bath.

Reznov slowly dipped himself in as Subaru simply jumped in without a care. This, was indeed something he had never tried in his life.

"Man… What a day…" as Subaru began to relax in the pool.

"Indeed," Reznov responded as well, began to unravel himself. The water felt nice on his aching bones and muscle.

The two simply sat there, silent for five minutes until wet footsteps could be heard approaching them. They both turned their heads to look and see who it was.

"Hellllllooooooo…. Don't miiiiiind if I join, won't you?"

Subaru's reaction was a little over the top as he slumped seeing his boss naked in front of him while Reznov stared a bit.

"Not at all, after all, it is your bath house."

Roswaal stood standing in front of them as he began to dip himself into the hot tub along with the other two.

The first thing the two noticed about the nobleman was that he was without his makeup. Which indeed shocked Subaru a bit as he could admit he was pretty good looking in male standards.

Reznov allowed himself to relax once more as he closed his eyes while both Subaru and Roswaal discussed about 'Magic' or something like that. He did not care much.

A few minutes rolled by until he heard his name being called once more.

"My… those are sooooome oddly shaped scars you have their Mr. Reznov," Roswaal said, trying to strike up a conversation with him.

"Hm?.. Oh.. These?" he pointed to his chest, then shoulder, and parts of his arm. "I got these a long time ago…" as he painfully remembered the bullet wounds and shrapnel he miraculously survived.

"Reallllly?... Please, do tell…" Roswaal pressed on.

Reznov raised an eyebrow but obliged anyways.

"I received these during a war over twenty years ago," he admitted.

"Aaaahhaaaa… I see.. So you really are a veteran warrior of some sort," Said Roswaal. "But I do not remember any great conflict occurring in the past twenty years or so. Maybe the few skirmishes we have with Vollachia once in awhile, but the last major conflict was the demi-human war over fifty years ago."

Reznov could tell that Roswaal was trying to delve deeper into his past history.

"I suppose I can say that it occurred in a land, far, far away from here… My home."

Subaru began to sink into the water a little further. Probably because he felt he had no input to include in the conversation. He knew all too well from the stories he had read online, what Reznov endured during World War II.

Roswaal simply smiled. "I see. I see. Reelaaaax… Even I know when not to pry too deep into things. Speaking of which, I believe you both will be having your leesssooooons pretty soon. Better get ready while you still have some time."

The two other men nodded at each other as they got out from the bath and made their way to the towel and clothes they set aside.

Once dressed they exited the bathroom to see Ram waiting outside for both of them while Rem held some dry towels. Presumably for Roswaal when he finished his bath.

"About time you two finished," Ram boredly said to the two. "Come. Let us begin your tutoring session before it gets late," the pink haired maid said, motioning the two to follow her to Subaru's quarters.

Inside, there was simply a decent sized bed, for a single person, a dresser, a small closet, a single window, and a desk with two chairs, a stack of paper, quills, and various books prepared for the writing lessons.

The two men sat down at the desks while Ram stood watching over them, tutoring and lecturing them about the grammatical style of this world's unique writing. They would continue this style of teaching for the next few hours.

They learned the basic alphabet, numbers, and sentence structuring which took a huge chunk of time to remember. But either way, both seemed to adapt quite well frankly. Perhaps moreso to Reznov. He did after all had to learn a few different languages than his native tongue. English, German, some Mandarin and Japanese. If learning another writing system was to be needed, then he should have no trouble with this theoretically.

Closing in near midnight, Reznov did in fact seem to advance farther than Subaru who still was on trying to remember all the various symbols while Reznov seemed to remember them better than he did. Ram had already assigned him to start reading old stories and children's books. He did not make too much progress however.

Ram sighed in exasperation.

"I believe this should be it for tonight's lessons," she announced to the two as both put down their ink quills and stretched their tired limbs.

"Yes," Reznov agreed. "This should suffice for the night. I wouldn't want to burden you both from your duties tomorrow morning after all."

The man gathered up his studying material as Ram agreed to letting him borrow the few books to practice how to read with. With that, he bid to two a good night and headed off to the front exit and saw the blue haired twin seemingly waiting for him with a large paper bag in hand, extending it towards him.

"What's this?"

Rem looked up to him. "Lady Emilia requested that I gathered the leftovers to give to you before you departed tonight. She was rather insistent about that you receive this."

The old man lightly smiled. He would thank her later for this.

"I see. I will have to come back and show gratitude personally the next time I see her," as he accepted the bag. With that, the maid opened the door for him as he stepped outside to depart towards his new home.

* * *

Outside, he observed his surroundings once more, taking in the surroundings, familiarizing himself with the land. Crystal light poles illuminating a pathway to the front portion of the mansion, well kept topiary shrubbery, a grand water fountain, everything that was expected in a nobleman's property was here. Sort of reminds him of the Tsar's old palace.

A brief five minute walk led him to his secluded cabin near the village as he fumbled with his key but managed to insert and unlock his door. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him, activated the crystal light and carefully placed down his studying materials and stored the leftovers in the cold storage.

Reznov finally plopped down onto the edge of his old bed, tired, that creaked upon having weight pressed on top of it.

…

His mind drifted to the bag underneath his bed and its content.

…

"Whatever is going to come of this new life… I hope it is for the better…" the old man whispered to himself before letting sleep overtake him.


	6. Settling Down: Part III

**In the previous chapter:**

Reznov now faces the dilemma of trying to adjust to his new village life and leave behind his old one. With frequent help of Emilia and friends, he hopes to do so.

* * *

Chapter 6: Settling Down: Part III

* * *

Here in the small peaceful village of Irlam, a village with a decent population of 200 people, the sun began to shine across from the horizon as it was the beginning of a new day with work to be done as always. Being primarily an agricultural village, it was important that things must be attended to as soon as possible to make sure the season's harvest would be good this time around.

The means of trade in this village was often sustained through travelling merchants or making round about trips to the bigger markets of other bigger communities. But overall, they were somewhat sustainable by themselves.

There were local smiths, seamstresses, merchants, butchers, farmhands, carpenters, and even some fishermen.

The thought of work was a common one. But to Reznov, it was still a decision to be made and he yawned and stretched from the mattress of his bed. He had not had such a comfortable sleep in such a long time.

The man, parched, got up from his bed and went to the water pump at the sink and got himself a cup of water, gulping it down. Beginning his day by freshening up, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, combed back his hair, and put on a set of clothes acceptable for the outside.

The man opened up the containers holding the leftovers from last nights dinner and began to have some breakfast.

….

Reznov still did not know what he should do from here on...

'Perhaps it is about time I actually get to roam the main part of the village and start asking around…' he thought to himself as he finished the last bite of his breakfast.

Reznov buckled on his pants and holster and stepped outside to be greeted with some fresh air.

'The weather here is actually quite wonderful…'

Reznov closed and locked the door behind him finally setting off to the village.

After a brief few minute walk, he started to see a crowd of people all bunched up together as they all seemed to be doing the same movements. 'How odd…' He thought. 'Oh…'

His attention soon came to the figure head who seemed to be leading this entire thing.

It was Subaru, with Emilia by his side surprisingly.

"Victory!" he yelled out to the crowd, finishing the last of his movements as the crowd mimicked as well.

The old man continued to watch with some amusement and a raised eyebrow from behind.

The black haired boy snapped his head behind him and saw the veteran.

"Oh! Reznov! Sorry to say but you came just when we finished our radio aesthetics," the boy said to the old man.

"Radio.. What?" he questioned back. "Looked kinda silly to be honest."

"Perhaps, but it is a good thing to get your blood flowing before the start of a busy day you know!" the boy exclaimed back, continuing on with his strange antics. The crowd soon began to disperse as the people began their day's work.

Reznov looked beside Subaru towards Emilia.

"Good morning… It is good to see you again Emilia," Reznov greeted to the half elf girl. "I just wanted to thank you for thoughtfulness last night."

"Oh, that! I was indeed worried that you haven't received your bounty nor have any funds to live off of so I asked Rem to gather some meals for you in the meantime…"

Reznov smiled in appreciation to the young lady and thanked her once more.

"So did Subaru decided to drag you here to the village as well?"

"Indeed, Subaru wanted to look around and now just showed us his fun activities this morning to the villagers. The kids seem to enjoy it," she replied. "Well… I better head back to the mansion to continue my studies… See you around Reznov. Sorry if I seem a bit unsociable, but my studies are important persay… It's great seeing you again."

With that, the girl waved farewell the old man with Subaru in tow, going towards his duties in the mansion as well.

The man turned around once more and began his walk around the village multiple times, trying to remember the layout and where is where. So far, he identified a small trade outpost, and a lot of houses.

"Enjoying the scenery?" an old somewhat gentle voice came from his side. Reznov turned to see who it was.

An old lady was sitting on a rocking chair outside her porch with another man across from her side, sitting as well on a stool.

Reznov began to approach them.

"You know, it's been about a day since you arrived here, but I didn't think you would become a resident so fast…" the granny chuckled to herself. "Yes, I remember you came through the village yesterday morning with Ram on Roswaal's dragon carriage. You looked so roughed up and frightening. Probably didn't have a wink of sleep at the time perhaps?"

"Forgive me but who are you exactly?" Reznov said.

"Hehe… My name is Milde Irlam. And this is my younger brother Muraosa," she introduced them both to Reznov. "We are the village heads, and I would like to be the first to welcome you here as a resident. I hope you enjoy your stay here as this a simple quiet place to live honestly."

Reznov nodded in response. "Thank you. My name is Viktor Reznov, at your service," he introduced himself as they both began to converse, speaking back and forth about the village.

"A question, if I may ask," said to veteran to the older woman as she began to listen.

"Is there anything I can perhaps do to help around here?" he asked.

The old lady began to think as she rubbed his chin."Hmmm… Well young men are always out for looking for new jobs these days… Come to think of it, we been recently getting new residents who are single young men… Say... what exactly brought you here in the first place, if I may be so rude to interject?"

Reznov replied. "Just wanted a quiet place to settle down and live life peacefully, no?"

"Ah… I see… Well… We are always in need of more farmhands if that interests you," Milde replied.

"I see…" Reznov said thinking to himself. "I'll keep looking around… Thank you for your help and I'll keep what you said in mind," he said as he turned and bid the two elderly siblings farewell.

Another brief walk led Reznov to the small market place of the village where he can see barrels of produce and other items being sold.

Of course, he had no money so therefore he would be stuck window browsing, much to the displeasure of watching merchants/salesmen.

"Not much of a selection this time huh?" a nearby man said to the butcher.

"Sorry, like I said before, we don't have much livestock so we make do by buying it from the traveling merchants, and they don't seem to be bringing more than the demand for fresh meat. And the forest here is too dangerous for huntin', too many damned Demon Beasts… Why do you think this village is bordered off by Crystal Wards? It keeps 'em away ya know. They'll tear any ordinary men to shreds..."

"Guess, I'll take the fish cuts again…" the man mumbled to himself before producing some coins to pay.

Reznov turned to think to himself.

'A forest full of animals to hunt they say?' he thought, soon thinking of an idea on how to support himself here.

' I must learn more about these "Demon Beasts" if I wish to traverse these parts.

While Reznov was not a bad hunter himself, he did not know the area too well or the type of creatures that live in it, so learning more about this general area would be a good idea if he ever wanted to venture out in the woods, beyond the village barrier.

Reznov soon began to wander back to his cabin where he decided to spruce up the place.

He picked up where he left off yesterday with the cleaning and began to sweep out even more dust and cobwebs from his living space.

He wiped off stains and more dust from all wooden furniture in the home and fixed the infernal squeaking of his wooden stool by moving some joints and oiling it.

Going through contents from the bag he recently dumped all over his tabletop and desks, he began to place them in the appropriate locations in the house where he deemed fit.

Various pictures, helmets, knick knacks were placed onto an old shelf, while more work oriented things were placed on his work desk. Over it, he adorned the old soviet banner hanging on the wall where he would sometimes look at it in nostalgia.

With that aside, he began to look around for more things to be done. For the next few hours, he would do some basic housework such as cleaning his bed sheets, hang his clothes, dust off more items and so forth.

Eventually, all these things were completed as the once dirty and old home was now decent looking to invites guests over at least.

With that, Reznov fell back onto his chair in front of his desk where he soon began to stare into space. But soon, a thought came to him as he realized there still were some things to be done indeed. He turned to his tabletop where he eyed the box containing his Kalashnikov kit. His new rifle still needed to be put together, he thought as he opened the box once more observing the pieces.

He took out the manual and looked for an assembly process in it where he found a blown up schematics of the rifle.

Reznov sighed a bit as he realized that he still need some specific tools to put this all together as pins, the barrel, the grip, and receiver and such were not assembled together.

He decided to make a stop at the local smith, as he exited his home to the village once more.

He looked around and saw the sun in the sky, nearing the evening as he was well past midday. Perhaps the local smith is still working and present, he thought, arriving at a small hut like building with a chimney and smoke coming from it. Just nearing the workshop, he felt some heat off it.

He peered inside and saw a stout man around his age using his forge to heat up a lump of iron. Behind him was a younger man, perhaps his apprentice, Reznov thought. He knocked on the wall to get their attention.

The old smith did not move but grunted. The younger man nodded in acknowledgement and turned his attention to Reznov.

"My Master is currently busy at the moment so I'll be taking care of your needs at the moment," the young man said. "How can I help?"

Reznov cleared his throat. "I was wondering if I may be able to use this workshop and some tools for a bit," he said. "I have this little project I am working on and I need some specific tools to get it done."

"Hmmmm… Well I don't think my Master will mind having someone borrow some stuff his workshop but their will be a rental fee required…" he said at which Reznov sighed inwardly.

"I see...I will come back with funds later on then. Farewell," Reznov said, a little bit disappointed as he turned and bid the young man farewell in which he responded in tipping his cap.

"Everything comes back to money I suppose…" Reznov said to himself as he made his way back to his cabin, closing the door behind him.

With no tools and nothing else to do, he began to study up on the reading materials that Ram let him borrow for the time being.

He picked up his ink quill and jotted down some new writings and tried to learn the new language as much as he can.

A good few hours would roll by as Reznov eventually set down his studying material to prepare himself a bath in the washroom with some water he drew from the local well and ate some leftovers for dinner.

He looked outside his window and noticed the sun had already set and dusk was among him.

'Perhaps it is time to return to the mansion for some more lesson…' he thought to himself as he gathered up the reading materials he borrowed and headed out his door, locking it behind him once more.

Reznov looked from afar as he made his way to the mansion, and could see villagers returning to their homes from a long day of work in the fields, some returning to their families while some others returning to await the cycle all over again tomorrow, hoping for another day of pay.

The old man returned his attention to the road and finished his brief five minute walk to the luxurious Roswaal Estate, walking up to the mansion's great door, and swinging the knocker on it as it made a very audible thud on every impact.

The man waited for a minute before the door was answered by one the maids, Ram.

"Luckily for you, you have seemed to arrived right on schedule… Rem will be taking her turn teaching you both tonight," Ram said, holding the door open for Reznov as he entered, making his way to Subaru's room.

He knocked on his door before entering.

Turning the knob, he entered to see both Rem and Subaru beginning on the lessons already.

"Good evening you two," he greeted as Subaru waved happily while Rem simply bowed in respect, showing no particular emotion, just her usual self.

Reznov took a seat next to Subaru as for the next few hours, they would practice more with literature and writing.

It became apparent that Reznov was now a lot farther ahead than Subaru when it came to the language, as Subaru groaned knowing he has fallen behind once more.

"Don't fret boy, I obviously had more time to study after all," he said, reassuring the young man. "Besides, I had to learn three other different languages when I was younger, so I suppose it is perhaps natural that I am probably more experienced in this field than you are…"

* * *

For Rem, these two were indeed rather strange than most people she has encountered. They were not of this country obviously and they spoke to each other with some familiarity despite barely knowing one another a few days back.

But in the end, none of that mattered much to her. So as long she can be of use to her sister, she would do anything. She would handle any burden. She was a girl whose heart has been frozen.

* * *

The three would come to continue with the lessons until around midnight at which they all decided to continue on tomorrow. Subaru would now prepare for the next day while Reznov swapped out his old books for new ones.

"By the way... Rem, was it?"

"Yes?" the blue haired maid responded.

"I wish to inquiry you about a certain topic?" he asked.

Rem responded with a nod to proceed.

"I wish to know more about Demonic Beasts, what can you tell me about them."

Rem cleared her throat and began her explanation.

"They are one of the many scourge of this world as they are beasts rumored to be created by the Witch herself. They vary from sizes from a small barn animal to great towering beasts sizes of buildings."

"Err... What can you tell me about the Demonic beasts that lives around here?" Reznov asked.

"The most encountered Demon Beasts that roam these forest are called Wolgarms. They are four legged creatures that hunt in packs to take down their prey. They are known to be able to cast a curse on you if you are not careful."

Reznov thought to himself with this new information. He shall be wary when he enters the forest later on.

"I see... Thank you for your assistance."

* * *

They three then said their farewells as Reznov made his way towards the entrance to depart towards home.

However, the moment he enters the lobby was when he saw a small sack at the front door with a note attached it to.

Interested, he investigated and read the note, now understanding the language a bit more, he read:

"At the request of Lady-Emilia - For Reznov"

Reznov peered in the sack to see what appeared to be either potatoes or yams.

While Reznov was thankful for more food, he also noted how no one was around to see him off at the entrance but instead an old sack full of produce with a note on it. He can only assumed that the person was Ram of course. She probably got tired of waiting and wandered off to bed he assumed, as he tied up the sack and threw it over his shoulder heading home for some sleep.

* * *

The next day, Reznov woke up early and steamed himself two yams in his kitchen whilst making preparations for his planned forest trek.

He quietly hummed to himself in contempt as he laid out all the necessary materials he could possibly need in this trip.

"Canteen… knife… flashlight… rope..." he mumbled as took a hot bite from his steam yam, burning his tongue a bit, making him curse aloud.

He would just be trekking today and getting a feel for the forest area, so he will not be expecting to be coming home with any bounties from the forest, he thought to himself as he placed his supplies into a bag and flung it over his back.

The man quickly gulped down the rest of his meal and began to leave his new home and walked to the edge of the village.

From what he had heard and seen, the village was protected by a multitude of crystal gem wards to prevent demon beasts from entering the premises as he saw the green glowing stones hanging aloft on the trees, evenly spaced out for maximum protection.

Approaching the village border fence with gear and weapons, he hopped over it and made his way into the lush forest, soon disappearing from the sight of the village.

And the sights of the of the few watching him...

* * *

"No way! He just went in!"

"He's crazy! That old man has lost it!"

"We gotta tell the adults!"

* * *

Reznov walked leisurely in the forest as he looked around and took in the sight. He remembered forests like these in his time during the war. He would often camp out with his men await for German patrols to pass by and ambush them.

The veteran stopped at a nearby tree and took out an old nail and piece of torn cloth he found while cleaning his home. Looking around, he found a decent sized stone as he placed the nail and cloth onto the bark of the tree and began to whack its head, driving it into the wood.

He would leave markers such as these to indicate his position in case he would ever get lost, as he continued to do so every hundred meters or so in a well spaced out manner.

The man continued onto his trek, noting key locations such as a nearby creek, an open field in the forest itself, and the mountainous area in the distance.

This was indeed a pleasurable trek through the forest, the man thought to himself. Felt almost just like home in his opinion, being an outdoorsman himself, unlike his father who was adept to the city, he was more of a man of nature himself.

Though there were not any Germans of any sort to worry about here, something else loomed in the forest...

Demon Beasts.

Reznov froze in his tracks as the crunching of leaves ceased beneath him.

He remembered what Rem had said to him the night before.

He listened...

…

He heard something quietly moving about around the shrubbery on his left about nearly twenty meters or so.

He readied his _Papasha_ and raised the sights to eye level.

Then he saw it.

A glint of glowing red. Of a beast. A monster. A stalker of prey.

He briefly saw it's body and described it as Demonic in a way in the shape of a wolf like creature.

'So this is the infamous Demon Beasts, that they mentioned…' he thought to himself, trying to assess the creature.

It looked no bigger than your average wolf but had a dark coat of fur of both brown and black, but most importantly had a small horn protruding from the top of its nostril.

It bared its rows of teeth and growled deeply at him as he noticed three more pairs of red orbs came from the shadows of the shrubbery.

He realized he had invaded their territory, and now they were testing him. Seeing where and when to strike.

With all the things he heard about these beasts, they were of no concern to respect as a living creature.

He would not take a chance today, as he remembered his lesson with Elsa.

The man squeezed down the trigger and unleashed a few second long burst into the shadows where the red orbs almost immediately disappear with a yelp and whimper.

The a deafening sharp crack from the gun filled the surrounding area as it startled the Demon Beasts. These beasts are often known for attacking just about anything that moves but something about the sound of a gun struck an innate feeling in them that just told them to "Run far away". Something so extremely unfamiliar for them and they were frightened.

He ceased fire and approached slowly, smoke coming out from the barrel and all.

He heard shrub move again as he could see one Demon Beast going into a spasm due to its injury from multiple bullets wounds. Reznov saw another lying dead in the shrub as the rests fled from the scene.

Despite the danger being over, he would still be cautious however, as he stepped over to the dying Demon beast and finished it off with Elsa's blade to the neck as he let it bled out to death faster.

He pulled out the other dead Demon Beast from the shrub by its legs and laid it next to the other.

"Hmmm.." he thought to himself thinking what part of the meat he should take part of.

He suspected animals like these would have gamy meat so he would have to harvest the meat immediately to prevent any spoiling soon. After all, back home, wolf meat is commonly known to hunters to be very rank in it's smell but despite that, pretty decent to eat once you cook it right. Though he assumed in this culture, not many people did eat Demon Beasts such as these...

He frowned a bit knowing he would probably not be able to sell these for some coin back at the village. It's pelt perhaps he can sell? He thought.

He frowned once more seeing one had it's pelt ruined by the bursts of bullets tearing into it but the other seemed decent enough to scavenge its pelt.

Immediately Reznov went to work at harvesting the meat from the one that had its pelt ruined and took what he can from it and tossing the rest back into the shrub, hands now all a bit bloody. He did managed to cut off its horn as a trophy, somewhat...

Whilst the other, he has to take back with him to properly skin at home.

With a heave, Reznov picked up the dead Demon beast and began his walk back to the village and did not have any trouble along the way.

After awhile, he began to see the sunlight coming from the edge of the forest. He was getting close to the village and it should be around almost later in the afternoon. He was only gone for a few hours at most he believed.

But as he took a step out, he immediately saw a small crowd of villagers with Emilia and Subaru among them. 'What is this all about?' he thought as he got closer and closer.

* * *

"Look! There he is!" one villager exclaimed as the rest looked at where he pointed.

A great deal of murmurs went about and some gasped as they saw the Russian carry a dead corpse of what was once a vicious Demonic Beast, with the man himself slightly bloody in the hands as well.

Reznov didn't know what to say to be honest.

"Uhm… Hello.. Everyone…"

"Reznov!" the man heard his named being called, with the source being Emilia.

"You had us a bit worried you know…" the half elf said to him, seemingly now relieved.

"I did?" he responded.

"Yes, indeed. The kids panicked when they saw you jumping over the village border and into the forest. Didn't you know Demonic Beasts roam these parts?" she chided him.

"Yes but I am fine, no? I can take care of myself you know."

Emilia pouted a bit knowing he would do this again, making her worry again.

"Alright… but at least let someone know before you go next time… okay?" she said.

"Yes. Sorry, next time I will," Reznov said a bit more understandingly.

At that moment, kids and some adults alike came in closer to Reznov and to see newest his bounty.

"Wooaaahh… I never seen a Demonic Beast this up close before!" one child exclaimed while the other children began to poke the dead corpse innocently.

Some parents scolded their children for doing so while the adults began some small talk with Reznov.

* * *

"Who are you by the way?"

"How did you managed to kill such a thing?"

"What are planning to do with this one?"

"You new around here?"

* * *

Many questioned barraged Reznov at once with some of the adults as he tried to catch up with all of them.

Subaru looked on at Reznov while Milde Irlam walked by and patted his lower back extremities.

"Woah!" Subaru jumped in surprise, face red a bit.

"Hehehe…" the old village elder chuckled. "He's here for such a short time and yet he is beginning to become very popular in such a short amount of time," she said. "I'll think he fit just right in, don't ya think young man?"

Subaru composed himself and responded, "Who? Reznov? Oh yeah, definitely, I think you would find things about him that more than meets the eye, if you know what I'm saying."

Milde nodded and chuckled. "Hmm… If only we were both younger, he and I would've probably been a thing," the elderly lady said to herself, slowly drifting into a fantasy as Subaru simply kept a straight face.

* * *

From a distance, two younger girls stood and watch the crowd, seeing Reznov was the center of attention.

"Petra, why don't you join the other guys to see all the commotion over there?"

"I don't know Meili… Demon beasts creep me out to be honest… Plus the older new guy kinda scares me too…" she mumbled.

"So what do you think of him Meili?" Petra asked the young blue haired girl, holding a small bald puppy.

She smiled. "Don't worry. I don't like him either."


	7. Settling Down: Part IV

**In the previous chapter:**

Reznov, having come back from a somewhat fruitful trek through the forest gains popularity in the village, finally begins to adjust to his new life.

* * *

Chapter 7: Settling Down: Part IV

* * *

Inside his cabin, the old soldier sat in his chair, in front of his fireplace, humming to himself as he reminisces on the decent time he had today. He managed to go out to the woods and bring back something in exchange for local currency, thanks to the travelling merchants who frequently come visit the village every so often.

Both Reznov and the merchant bartered with one another for a bit before finally coming to a fair agreement, exchanging the pelt for some coin.

The local butcher was quite reluctant on buying some of the fresh Wolgarm meat Reznov had harvested from his hunt and ultimately declined on Reznov's offer to buy it off him. Though he did say he would be interested in any other animal meat from the forest however, much to Reznov's delight.

Near the end of the day, Reznov returned to his cabin, cleaned himself up, ate some dinner, and departed towards the mansion for more lessons on the language here, and went home later that night.

The old man leaned from his chair and stoked the fire with an iron poker, keeping the flame alive while at the same time fiddling with the Wolgarm's horn he broke off earlier in his hands.

Reznov sank back into his chair and sighed to himself, content with his work for the day.

He remembered when he arrived to the mansion earlier and was surprised to see it was Emilia who would be helping tutor the two men on their reading and writing skills that night.

Her happy demeanor and sweet complexion could soften any person's heart if given the chance to…

…

Despite seemingly being a young innocent girl, he knew that she would play a big role in this country sooner or later due to her status as a Royal candidate for the throne. She would have study and be groomed for such a position, in which Reznov imagined Roswaal was no doubt responsible for her tutelage, being a first hand supporter of her for whatever reason...

The old man brought his hand to his chin and began to lose himself in thought.

Reznov could not exactly judge Roswaal himself as bad in character, but deep down he knew that perhaps there is something that the nobleman had something to gain from supporting someone like Emilia. But as long it is with good intentions, Reznov would not bother to pry any further, but he will remain suspicious.

But nonetheless, if he had to express an opinion, he hoped that she had the strength in her heart to withstand the brutal reality of bureaucratics and politics. He does not know if the world can accept her for who she is, let alone who she greatly resembles…

With that, the old man let sleep begin to overtake him… And began to dream.

* * *

 **He dreamt of himself.**

A man, thrown into a field of fire where he fought with the ferocity and tenacity of a beast.

 **He dreamt of his victories.**

A proud Soviet who stood upon the Reichstag where the Red Banner fluttered in the light wind.

 **He dreamt of his downfall.**

The bitter feeling of losing everything. His country, his life, his friend...

 **He dreamt of a redemption…**

 **But none came.**

* * *

The old man's eyes fluttered open as a crack of sunshine hit his eyes through the window.

Groggily he stumbled out of his chair and made his way to his washroom, undressing himself and began to bathe with cold water from a bucket. His senses tingled for a bit but dulled soon after, due to being used to cold showers for many years of his life.

Drying off with a towel and finishing the rest of his morning grooming, he put on his casual clothing of a T-shirt, and a pair of military fatigues with some boots.

The man looked into the mirror and saw a person who years before would charge into enemy fire and beat a man to death with the end of his rifle. No longer…

He had just remembered:

This is his life now, everything from the past must stay in the past.

* * *

 _Elsewhere:_

A young man snored in his slumber as droll would continue to pool up onto his pillow while a maid with blue hair stared at him with discontempt somewhat as she would often be the one to wake him up for morning duties in the mansion.

Ever since he came to the mansion under the circumstance that he helped save Lady Emilia from harm's way, he was now hired as a butler by Roswaal as a reward for his actions.

Rem, without question would accept her masters decisions and will continue to work with the boy so as long he kept his distance and knew his place here. But nevertheless, she felt something strange about him and could not bring it onto herself to completely trust him. But none of that mattered in the end. As long she serves a purpose for her sister, she will carry on.

* * *

Reznov once again, having completed his morning rituals, geared up once more to begin his trek into the forest, now that he was more familiar with the land and terrain.

The man walked to near the edge of the village once more where the wooden fence divided both village and forest area. However before, he stepping over the fence, he saw the kids from yesterday nearby as they approached him.

"Hey Mister. You going into the forest again?" a shirtless boy asked to the older man.

"Indeed," Reznov replied to the group of children. "Would you children mind telling the other adults in case something happens to me?"

"Okay, but can you bring something back cool like last time?" the boy gleamed as with his other friends.

Reznov chuckled a bit. "I cannot make any promises but you children will surely get to see whatever I bring back anyways."

"Yippee!" the boy known as Cain jumped in joy as the others smiled. "Well, see you around Mister Rehzzy-nuv," the boy said butchering his name while running off with his friends back to the village.

The older man watched as the children disappear from his view and soon turned his attention back to the fence as he climbed over it, ready for another day in the forest.

Today, he had only back his standard gear from last time and left behind his PPSH-41 in favor for his Mosin Nagant 91/30 with the PU scope mounted on top. He had earlier zeroed the rifle to his likings, much to the panic of some villagers due to the noise but quickly explained himself to calm them down.

With everything set, he ventured off into the woods with every footstep he took resulted in the crunching of leaves beneath him.

When hunting, people are taught early on to expect that not all trips will be successful. So as usual, today Reznov did not expect his trip through the forest to be a fruitful one but will appreciate one anyways.

* * *

Over twenty minutes into his walk, he managed to locate a water source and open forest clearing in which he discovered animal tracks that greatly resembled a hooved animal or some sort. Perhaps something similar to a pig since their were some holes dug around near the tracks. An animal foraging for roots he supposed.

Wasting no time, the man pulled out a small sack which contained leftover yams from his pantry and scattered bits and pieces of it around the area before walking off to a position behind a log and some shrubbery about 100 meters or so away. Reznov wasn't too worried of the Demonic Beasts around this area as they mostly comprised of Wolgarms and anything in his person was more than enough to deal with them. But just to be sure, he kept his pistol holster open and at the ready.

And so, the man sat and waited for his possible prey.

And waited, and waited, and waited…

…

Reznov sat, finally taking time to admire the environment here as it wasn't too cold, not too hot, not too humid, but just right this time of year.

This was perhaps the life Reznov wanted after the war… just him, the outdoors, and peace and quiet.

For the next few hours, the began to let his mind wander a bit thinking about the past, present, and future, all the while chewing on some dried meat he prepared the night before. To be honest, Wolgarm meat wasn't all THAT bad. Tasted somewhat like pork, but leaner…

More hours had passed as Reznov let out a large yawn, finally noticing the sun had begun to set. Much to his dismay, he knew to was time to go home. He had decided a while back that it was perhaps not a wise idea to camp out here alone as he presumed the Demonic Beasts were more active at night. With that being said, he picked himself up and trekked home.

After a twenty minute walk, he saw the clearing in the edge of the forest where the village border fence lied with a small crowd waiting for him. It was no other than Subaru and the local village kids, however, it seemed one of them was missing but he could not put his finger on who exactly though as it did not matter too much for him.

* * *

"Heeeeeeeeyyy! Mister!" one of the kids waved excitedly at him. "Aww… you didn't get anything this time?"

Reznov shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, maybe next time however."

The veteran then turned his attention to Subaru. "What brings you out here so late boy?" he asked.

Subaru grinned, "It wasn't my idea exactly but Emilia-Tan insisted that you join us for dinner tonight."

"Emilia… Tan?" Reznov questioned.

"Err.. Just a nickname I came up for someone as amazing and pretty as her of course!" he said flamboyantly earning a little cringe from the older man.

"Sure…" he replied as he eyes traveled down Subaru's figure.

"Umm.. Boy. How did you injure your hand?" he asked, pointing to the bandaged right hand of Subaru.

"Oh this? Hehe… I was playing around the village kids earlier today one of the little kid's puppy dog bit my hand…" he admitted. "But anyways, be sure to stop by the mansion for dinner, alright?" at which Reznov nodded as the two parted ways, Subaru back to the mansion while Reznov back to his cabin to prepare himself to look presentable.

* * *

Quickly, Reznov washed himself off with a bucket of water and soap, combed back his short hair, trimmed his beard, and changed into a fresh pair of fatigues before heading off to the mansion, at which Subaru was waiting at the entrance in his tracksuit.

"Ah! There you are. Just in time too," he said as he invited Reznov inside and led him into the dining area he once entered five days ago.

Five days is how long it has been since he had come to this village to live his new life in peace. He couldn't have been more contempt than to meet the people he has today, he admitted to himself. He would do his best to make the best of it, as he sat down across from Emilia. On his right, Roswaal sat while a smile, looking intently at Reznov. Subaru and Beatrice sat across from each other in the middle of the table as Subaru pushed her buttons while she made discontempt faces at him, much to his enjoyment.

"So Reznov, it… it has been awhile since we had dinner together I suppose," Emilia said a bit shyly.

Reznov nodded. "Indeed. There is nothing better than having a home-made dinner, surrounded by friends to enjoy."

"Quite right indeeeeeeeeeed," Roswaal said in his usual tone of voice. "Oh. In fact, here comes the main course right now."

The door leading to the kitchen swung open as Ram and Rem pushed over a cart full of food and eating utensils. With just Rem herself, she expertly passed the plates around the table in a fast manner and gingerly placed each meal to each recipient with a fast pace. Faster than any server Reznov has seen before. Then again… most things were self served where he was from…

The lids to each other meals was lifted by the Blue haired maid as it revealed a steamy plate of goodness for each person as today's menu consisted of steamed fish with a side of veggies.

With that, everyone began to dig into their respective meals.

Reznov savored the flavors of the fish melting into his mouth. It was perhaps one of the best things he had ever eaten in his life. Of course, this was to be expected when he was invited to eat at a luxurious mansion.

Minutes flew by as small conversations and smiles were shared at the table.

"So Reznov… Umm.. How is life near the village so far? Is everything up to your liking?" Emilia asked, a bit worried.

"Why of course. I had never felt this much peaceful and carefree in years to be honest," he admitted.

"Years.. You say?" she asked in curiosity.

Reznov froze up a bit. "Ah… A story for perhaps another time…" not wanting to tell of his past just yet…

"Oh… forgive me if I brought up of a sensitive subject…" Emilia apologized.

"It is fine," Reznov replied as he took another bite of his meal before turning his attention to Subaru.

"And you boy, how are you liking working in the mansion so far?" he asked the young man.

"It's great! Having a stable job, food, a bed, and a roof over your head. But best of all, I get to spend more time with Emilia-Tan," Subaru said with a happy attitude before taking another bite of his meal.

Reznov eyed everyone else to see if they had any opinion on Subaru's presence in their lives so far in the mansion as a butler.

Ram now decided to chime in. "He's clumsy, somehow messes up one way or another, annoying, and has evil eyes."

"He is careless at times but tries his best at everything," Rem said.

"He sure lightens up the mood around here and always a cause of interest in the mansion. In a good waaaaaaaay of course," Roswaal added.

"He's an annoying weirdo…" Beatrice said blankly and unexpectedly.

Reznov turned and looked at Emilia to her what she had to say.

"Umm.. Well… He's energetic and always so happy. He is someone who I think can trust and depend on… Most of the time…" she said.

With all that said, Reznov turned to face Subaru across the table. "I suppose you are adjusting well here after all then. Keep it up," the old man said to the grinning young man.

With that, everyone finished their dinner and afterwards said their good nights as both Subaru and Reznov agreed to take a break on the literacy lessons tonight and to continue tomorrow instead, much to the agreement of everyone.

Reznov walked back to his cabin and locked the door behind him, before throwing some wood in his fireplace and lighting some kindling with some matches, soon creating a cozy warm fire.

He then sat on his chair, sinking into it, relaxing, letting the warmth of the fire smother him.

He was finally beginning to feel right at home. Perhaps a fitting reward after all he has been through.

The veteran began to let sleep overtake him as he felt the bask of the fire grow dimmer and dimmer. He slept.

….

….

* * *

Reznov suddenly opened his eyes, and immediately felt something was right.

He couldn't see anything.

Or rather, all he could see was the clashing colors of orange and purple.

It was perhaps a most surreal sight as he can describe as an overwhelming feeling of emotions and visuals. It's feeling was something similar to being under the influence of narcotics mixed with hallucinations.

The coldness of the purple fighting against the warmth of the orange.

It felt like it screamed in anger and jealousy as the orange overcame it with power and authority, soon silencing it.

Reznov blinked again… and again… and shook his head violently, wanting to wake up from this nightmare, as he would describe.

Everything went pitch black.

…

Slowly, Reznov felt his eyelids open.

What he saw next shocked him.

…

* * *

It was his cabin, over course. He was inside as he remembered falling asleep near the fireplace, expect… the chair was missing, and that he was already standing.

He looked down and examined himself. He was in dress uniform, just like the first day he arrived here after meeting Roswaal. Over his shoulder was his bag he had in the beginning and his ppsh-41. In his hand, was his house key.

"What in God's name…?" he talked to himself in confusion. Everything was… WRONG!

He didn't feel that tired anymore around when he slept, the sun was still up outside which indicated midday, and worst of all, his cabin was in disarray, just like when he first walked in for the first time ever. Dust and cobwebs everywhere and about with furniture misplaced.

….

Reznov dropped his sack to his side and fell down to his rear, sitting down, trying to comprehend what was happening.

He continued to sit for a few minutes.

….

He can only come up with one possible answer.

Time somehow reversed itself…

"How…? And… Why?" he muttered.

The old man slowly picked himself up from the floor and dusted himself off.

….

"GRAAHH!"

Reznov angrily yelled as he kicked a nearby stool into the wall, causing a loud crash with more dust kicking up and about.

" _Cyka Blyat!_ What is going on!?" as screamed as he buried his face into his palms.

* * *

Elsewhere, a mysterious figure sat in his recliner, watching an old man scream to himself through what can be described as a window through time, chuckled in amusement.

"Hoo boy, things are about to get pretty interesting."


	8. Settling Down: Part V

**In the previous chapter:**

Reznov, having finally adjusted to living in the village, now finds himself in a time loop. Can he find the answers he desire?

* * *

Chapter 8: Settling Down: Part V

* * *

There, alone, sitting in a corner, the veteran sat quietly, thinking deeply upon what has transpired. The fire place he had lit last night, now has signs showing it has never been used in years, his new house now is total disarray as it was in the beginning before he cleaned it, and to top it all off, he was reliving the beginning of the week when he first came here all over again.

Reznov pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"What in Lenin's name is going on…?" he asked himself.

Slowly, he rose off his stool he had been sitting on for an hour and immediately dug out a pair of different clothes from his bag and changed into them, trying his best to recreate the week he lived through.

In all honesty, the man did not know how to approach this situation as it was completely foreign and inconceivable to him that something like this is possible to happen.

He left his home, and walked down to the village as he did a number of times before as if he lived here previously as people curiously stared at him as he walked by but paid little mind to him at all. Nothing has changed obviously as the village was like it was even before he was somehow flung back in time.

"Good evening," a voice said from Reznov's side as he turned to see it was the village elder, Milde Irlam.

"And good evening to you as well," he replied back, familiar with the village elder and her brother. He would be careful not to sound crazy and would test the waters by having a small conversation with her.

The old woman smiled to herself. "You know, I saw you earlier this morning when Lady Ram came through the village with Roswaal's personal dragon carriage," she said. "You had such a serious and tired look upon you…" she said a bit worryingly.

Reznov replied. "Of course. Forgive me, I was a bit tired from the overnight travel to the village is all."

"My name is Viktor Reznov, and I will be residing in Irlam village from now on, so I am pleased to make your acquaintance," he said extending his hand out to the older woman in which is gingerly shook.

"A pleasure Mister Reznov. I am Milde Irlam, and behind me is my brother Muraosa. Both of us are the village chiefs," she said. "If there is anything you need to discuss, we will always be happy to listen."

Reznov nodded. "Of course. Take care now," he said turning his back and waving goodbye for now.

'I've confirmed that I have indeed returned in time now at least, seeing that she doesn't even remember me from before…' he thought to himself as he made his way back to his cabin to begin clean up, again….

* * *

The process took some time but now that he was more situated, he actually finished an hour earlier than he did last time and now spent that time brainstorming as he sat on the creaky chair.

'Perhaps if I reproduce every single action I took the week before, and if any changes happen, I must thoroughly investigate it to see if they are the cause of the time discrepancy here…' he thought. It was honestly a long shot but it was perhaps the best thing he can do in this situation.

Now all he had to do was wait for Subaru to knock on his door for dinner…

 ***Knock*knock*Knock***

'Just in time,' Reznov thought to himself as he opened the door to Subaru.

As expected, he was told to show him the way to the mansion for dinner and did so with Reznov now finding himself in the dining room of the Roswaal mansion. He kept quiet as he carefully observed any notable differences in this timeline as he tried his best to replicate past conversations, much to his success. He ate the same dinner, had the same conversations, and enjoyed it the same as before, but to a lesser extent of course… His main objective was to find out why this was all happening of course.

* * *

He finished dinner the same way, went to the bath house with Subaru as before, and went to the same literacy lessons as before. Only then did he did start noticing discrepancies.

Obviously he feigned his lack of knowledge on his writing abilities as he started off from square one again, but did not mind. But he noticed Subaru was asking less questions than before and was able to 'pass' him in the studies tonight. But Reznov did not want to make it obvious, so he kept quiet, without Subaru knowing of course.

The night went on as usual with Ram ending the lessons, Rem giving him food before leaving, and him sleeping quietly through the night.

The morning after, he of course talked to Milde and Muraosa about going into the forest, much to their objection, but went anyways.

He would continue this trend for days, meeting with Subaru and friends occasionally, reading his study materials, trekking the forest, and brooding at his home for the rest of the time.

Then came the fourth day of the week, where everything seemed to hinge on how he came to return to the past. He now indeed had a person whom he wanted to ask something about but was unsure how he could get him and that person alone together for a private discussion, but he had an idea.

Of course, the dinner conversation went as expected as it did last time, no major discrepancies were noticed as everything went basically the same. However, he decided to have a different approach this time around as he decided to stick around just for a bit longer.

After dinner, everything went on with their respective businesses as Reznov slipped away to a long hallway Subaru told him about in past conversations.

"I better make this quick…" he said to himself as he began opening doors all about. His main objective was to find the little girl known as Beatrice. To the extent of his knowledge, she is the librarian for a room called the forbidden library located within the mansion so therefore she should be very knowledgeable about all kinds of phenomenons he assumed. He only felt perhaps comfortable talking about an issue like this to her because of her uncaring demeanor and that fact Roswaal himself was a suspicious character in his eyes.

Someone like Beatrice who could honestly care less how a person feel would honestly be a perfect candidate to ask questions to without fear of repercussions seeing how unsocial and cold she acted.

For the next ten minutes or so, Reznov continued his door opening sequences as he was finally about to give up and try again next time, without making himself look suspicious as well. Until…

"You are acting strange I suppose. What is the purpose of your actions? Looking for me perhaps?" a voice said out of nowhere.

Reznov opened the door in front of him to find something entirely different. A large room that seemed to not fit the environment behind the walls in front of him. There down the center, was a small looking girl whose blonde drill styled hair bounced every time she moved. It was Beatrice, reading a rather large book for her size.

Reznov stepped into the room, and closed the door behind him.

"There… is something I wish to ask you. An inquiry if you may," he said to the small spirit girl.

"I see. Go on then I suppose. You are taking up my reading time," she replied.

"Erm.. Yes…" he stammered. "I have little understanding of how sorcery works in this world so I thought it best to come to you for answers."

Beatrice looked up with her eyes from the page of her book. "Go on…"

"My question is, is there any possible instances of magic that sends people back in time?" he asked.

Beatrice continued to stare at him unemotionally. "No. What you speak of is impossible of course. It defies all logic in the magic realm and trying to dabble in that sorts will only result in disaster," she explains.

"Many people do not know it but researching magic is a dangerous prospect itself and should only be attempted according to one's abilities," she continued. "I sense your magic capabilities and knowledge are non-existent and should not even be considered in all honesty. But to answer your question, no, magic to alter time, let alone send someone back in time, is outright impossible."

Reznov stroked his beard, pondering on her answers. "I see… I thank you for your time. I will take my leave now."

Beatrice nodded as she went back to reading her book, while opening a rift in which Reznov was suddenly sucked into much to his alarm.

He suddenly found himself outside his cabin with the moon high in the sky, illuminating the background. 'Did that girl send me to my home from the mansion? Amazing…' he thought to himself in shock.

The man opened his door and went inside his cabin. Sliding in a few logs into his fireplace and lighting some kindling, her started up a warm cabin fire and sat on his refurbished chair. All he remembered that the time jump happened when he fell asleep so all he wondered what would happen if he stayed up long enough. In fact, he was willing to stay up the entire night if he has too.

Was this the doing of someone when he fell asleep? Was someone targeting him through magical means? He did not know. But he was determined to find out the cause.

With his PPSH-41 in hand, he sat perpendicular to the fireplace and front door, and waited… And waited…. And waited…

Tired, he yawned but was determined to get to the bottom of this. If someone was purposefully doing this to him, hell would be paid in retribution.

A few more hours had come to pass as the crackle of logs were beginning to cease. Reznov rose to take the iron poker to stoke the fire when it happened…

Everything in the world went black as his house and vision faded. Then he saw it again…

* * *

The clash of colors between dark purple and flaming orange. It ended as the same way as before as he described the agonizing scream of the purple overwhelmed by the force of orange.

Slowly, his vision returned to see a cabin in disarray once more with him in full dress uniform when he first came here. It had happened again…

Reznov set aside his bag and fell onto the dusty bed.

He can now confirm that he felt nothing when he the event happened to him and felt that no one was around when it happened. But one thing was sure, he was sure as hell getting tired of this.

The man grown more irritated as he felt absolutely useless in this situation. He felt everything he did was for naught and that it was bound to happen again. However, he was not going to easily give up. He had to connect the dots somehow. Why was this happening?

The man rose up, put his officer's cap back on and decided to divert from the past timelines. He would do something different.

He decided to go back to the mansion immediately and see if changing past outcomes will change the future.

'The butterfly effect I assume? I honestly don't know…' Reznov thought to himself but not getting to deep into it.

The man walked back to the mansion to see Subaru and Emilia at the front, seemingly enjoying talking to each other as he watched from the front gate.

Emilia immediately noticed him and motion him to come over in which he obliged.

"Back so soon Reznov? Did Ram take you to your new home? How was it?" she asked the man multiple questions as gave a small smile.

"Yes, the new home Ram showed me is to my likings fortunately. I simply came back to check on Subaru's condition of course," he made the lie up on the fly. "So Subaru, now that you're awake, what do you plan to do for the future?" he asked.

"Well… In all honesty… I think I want to travel the world," the young man said.

At this, Reznov's eyebrows arched in surprise. 'This is different...' he thought to himself.

"I want to understand this world more so I've decided to leave the mansion in three days time once I've recovered from my wounds of course," he admitted to the both of them.

"I see…" Reznov said to himself. Come to think of it, Subaru did act somewhat differently in the past timelines, in fact this was his first meeting with him in this one. There is possibly no way that him being here influenced his decision to leave the mansion instead of becoming a butler. Why would he want to leave now of all times?

At that moment, Subaru became a prime suspect to Reznov. Seeing now he no longer needed to really follow the same actions he did in the previous timelines, Reznov wished Subaru best of luck and excused himself, returning to his home.

The next few days, he lived off the food that Emilia so kindly offered him and shut himself in, awaiting for Subaru's departure from the mansion as he said he would. In the meantime, he made preparations to quietly observe Subaru when he departs. A bag of supplies readied out and his guns maintained and zeroed to his likings. This time, he will get answers.

* * *

 ** _Three days later:_**

"Let's see… you sure you have your toothbrush, soap and other things..?" Emilia asked Subaru worryingly.

"Aha, Emilia-Tan you're acting like my mother…" he said embarrassed.

The boy and four others being Emilia, Roswaal and the twin maids stood in the grand lobby of the mansion to see him off, thanking him for everything he's done.

"Be sure to say bye to Reznov too please!" Emilia yelled out to Subaru as he exited the front gate.

"Sure thing!" he replied. "Farewell!"

Little did they all knew, Subaru did not intend to leave at all.

In truth, Subaru was also shocked to find that he had been flung in time to the beginning of the week and that it was triggered by his sudden death. The first time he realized this was when he awoke to both Ram and Rem in his room whom acted that they did not remember him at all. To them, he acted as if he was crazy towards them but what alarmed them most was the fact that he knew so many things he wasn't supposed to yet, like their names when Subaru first woke up, making them very suspicious of him.

Either way Subaru wrote off the past events as a bad dream and that he was just simply going crazy and carried out the week as he did before as best as he could.

But then on the second loop on the fifth day, he decided to stay up late and was suddenly in extreme pain and convulsing to the point he seeked immediate help from others and tried to warn them something was going on. That was when he experienced his first painful and gory death as a mysterious figure tore off half his body with a chain and ball like weapon. In that moment, he feared someone was targeting him and the mansion inhabitants.

Since then, Subaru has been working hard to see who was targeting him and the others in the mansion. So far, the information he inquired through Beatrice was that a Shaman was present and earlier targeted him through a curse.

Not wishing the same fate on anyone else in the mansion, he sought to seek answers by himself on who this mysterious assassin is, hence he decided to leave the mansion this time loop. Through his time here, Subaru had 'stolen' a knife from the kitchen to use as a weapon in case of an emergency, though he questioned his abilities with it however. But for now, all he had to do now was observe the mansion from a distance and wait…

Little did he know, he wasn't the only one experiencing the time loops…

* * *

Reznov, the expert marksman that he is, scouted the village and mansion much earlier and found some good vantage points where he can observe those who leave the mansion and into the village if they desired and eventually set up camp there. Through a pair of binoculars, he observed the front entrance of mansion and saw Subaru leaving through the front entrance on the fourth day, just as he said he would.

Quietly observing the boy, Reznov expected him to head towards the village but was surprised to see him cut through the forest and into the rocky areas a few hundred meters away from the mansion. Reznov soon lost sight of him and cursed. He would have to move to track him down as he picked up his mosin and knapsack, cutting through the forest area as well.

He hurried himself through the forest but quietly as learned back then back in the war during scouting missions as a younger lad. He eventually hiked to a high vantage point near where he last saw Subaru and eventually spotted the tracksuit wearing boy through his binoculars.

"Aha. There you are…" he whispered to himself. He be damned if he let his only lead get away that easily.

Reznov in a prone position, observed the boy as he seemed to stay for hours on end, fixated on the mansion itself. He then saw Subaru pulled out a simple kitchen knife from his carry sack and questioned, 'What in the world are you planning?'

He was definitely now for sure that Subaru was the key to all of this. He is the only who has been acting differently through these entire loops. Whatever he was planning, he eventually need to confront him.

Reznov thoughts were immediately snapped back into reality as a sudden crash was heard. He looked through his binoculars and saw that it was Subaru who was now sprawled on the floor as a what it appeared to be the blue haired maid from the mansion in front of him.

What he witnessed next was a rather pathetic scuffle between him and the maid as the small woman completely manhandled Subaru. Did Subaru do something to wrong her in some sort of way? He did not know. He initially got up to walk over there to talk things out but that was cut short when he heard a blood curdling scream.

Too many times he heard that kind of scream in his lifetime. It was one of a man hollering in pain before he died.

Reznov looked through his binoculars hurryingly again and saw that the maid was now crushing Subaru's leg with her ball and chain. Reznov can see the maid and boy scream at each other back and forth. It was no doubt an interrogation. Reznov winced at the thought and was amazed on how such a small woman was so monstrously strong. Immediately, he hardened himself for the decision he would make next. If he did not act now, once the maid gets the information she needed, she might dispose of Subaru and he could not risk that.

He has lived through the same week twice and grows tired of it. If everything he does will result in a time loop, then might as well do everything he can to get answers. Today, he could not let Subaru die. He needed answers and would have no regrets doing what he needed to do.

Making sure a round was chambered in his Mosin, he steadied the rifle on his Knapsack as support and begun to aim at his target. He would not be so stupid to do a direct confrontation if he could avoid at all. He would not risk the chance of a loss, so he did what he did best. Sniping.

Everything was perfect on that day. No wind to affect bullet trajectory, the sun was setting behind him effectively camouflaging him, and he was a good distance away where he can still hit his target accurately. Hell he can easily hit a man sized target with iron sights from 300 meters back in the days.

Reznov estimated the total distance between him and his target was about 200-250 meters away. With his Mosin fitted with a PU scope, it was honestly child's play.

Looking through the scope of his rifle, he saw the maid continuing with her savage beating of Subaru, then following up with what he assumed was healing magic. The same one Emilia used on him previously after he fought Elsa. Cruel but clever, he thought to himself. But it was time to finally stop her as he aligned the optic's reticle with the maid.

* * *

"GRaaaaaaah!" Subaru screamed out with tears rolling down his face and snot dripping from his nose. Why was this happening to him? What did he do to deserve this?

He felt another blow to his legs followed by some healing. He screamed in pain once more. He won't last much longer he thought to himself.

"Tell me! WHO SENT YOU, WITCH CULTIST?!" the maid roared at him.

"I DON'T KNOW I SWEA-GAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Subaru felt pressure being applied to his wounded leg.

The maid raise her iron ball once more to strike upon his leg when suddenly what can be described as thunder, clapped.

Blood splattered onto Subaru's face as he squinted to see a neat hole through the head where the maid was standing. Immediately after, she crumpled to the floor like a rag doll in front of him.

Subaru sobbed both new tears of joy and sadness. He had watched someone he had come to know and care somewhat about die in front of him who turned out to have previously killed him, but at the same time, glad that his torture session was finally over.

"Thank God…. Thank God…" he sobbed, shielding his eyes with his forearm.

"Rem! REM!" another figure appeared screaming and running to the fallen maid. It was Ram.

She was sent to make sure her little sister wouldn't do anything rash on Roswaal's behalf but never did she expect to find her dead. Her sadness was eventually overturned by her rage as she looked at Subaru with intense ferocity in her eyes.

"Did… you do this..?" she said quietly.

"N-No… Please I didn't… want this to happ- GURGH!"

A harsh kick was placed onto Subaru's stomach as he emptied out his stomach content on the floor in front of her.

"Death is too good for the likes of a mongrel like you…" she said with murderous intent in her eyes. Immediately she raised her hand as a ball of wind magic formed around it, ready to obliterate Subaru and every fibre of his being.

Suddenly, another thunderclap rang out as bits of blood splattered again over Subaru with Ram suddenly clutching her chest, magic dispeling from her other hand. She hunched over and saw she was bleeding profusely. She could barely feel her legs and it took every bit of her being to even move at all. If she was going to die, she wish to lay by her beloved sister, as she dragged herself to her sister's corpse and slowly reached for her hand.

Minutes later, the crunching of dirt and leaves soon made itself present as a man with a rifle ejected a spent cartridge from the chamber and inserted a new one. Reznov, walked over to see the sorry sight of the dying pink haired maid and decided to quickly put her down as he pulled out his Tokarev and fired two rounds into her head. Subaru witnessed everything with abject horror as he saw how the old man did all that without a single bit of remorse on his face.

"How… How can you do such a thing with a straight face…?" Subaru muttered without Reznov hearing him.

The veteran soon face the boy and offered his hand up to him. "Are you… alright?" he asked.

With a sniffle, Subaru hesitantly took his hand. "Yeah… I think so… -Oof!"

The man glocked the younger boy in his jaw as he pulled him up, essentially knocking him down again.

"Wh-WHAT the hell!?" Subaru spattered as he saw the man walk up to him once more but this time picked him up by grabbing the front of his tracksuit and hoisting him up to face level.

"Two times I have lived the same week over and over. Two times I was left without answers! But you… You were different Subaru," he said, shocking the young man. "You know something… and you are going to TELL. ME. EVERYTHING."

Subaru winced. "I-I can't…" he admitted, already feeling the dark tugging in his heart. Whatever force causing this, would not allow him to.

…

"So be it…" Reznov said as he raised his fist once more.

 **"Stop. Stop. Stop,"** a mysterious voice rung out.

Immediately, Reznov loosened his grip on Subaru and looked around, pointing his pistol here and about.

"Who's there?!" he said cautiously.

The mysterious voice only chuckled.

 **"I have been watching you both for some time now… I know of each of your past actions, good or bad," the voice continued. "And might I say, both of you are interesting characters."**

"What are you getting at!?" Reznov yelled back. "Do you know what has been happening to us?"

 **"Indeed I do,"** the voice replied. In that moment a pure whitish blue rift opened up in front of the two men. **"Step inside now, don't be shy. I will explain everything once you get to the house."**

Completely taken aback and off guard, slowly, Reznov went towards the light and dragged Subaru with him who was unable to resist.

"Wait, hold on! Where are you taking me?! Sto-!" Subaru's pleas were unheard as Reznov stepped into the rift with him in tow.

* * *

Through the rift, the two ended up in an empty room in what looked like an old dusty basement. There standing in front of them was a man in a green suit with a red scarf.

"Who are you..?" Reznov asked to the mysterious stranger.

The man smiled back. "My name... is Dr. Monty."


	9. Settling Down: Part VI

**In the previous chapter:**

After confronting Subaru and saving him from a grisly demise, both Reznov and him are now approached by a mysterious man name Dr. Monty as he is the key to their purpose here and answer to their questions.

* * *

Chapter 9: Settling Down: Part VI

* * *

Across the cosmos of time and space, lies endless possibilities and wonders. Different worlds, timelines, and the unknown. Many have come to theorize their existence and believe that everything around them is just all but a part of one collective continuum. Today, was that day for Reznov as he finally believed.

Having been mysteriously flung into a new world from his old one, and now stepping into a new dimension itself to face the one whom has the answers to his questions. He was bewildered.

"My name is Dr. Monty…" the grey haired man said to the two men front of him. "I know you both have some questions so uhh… come join me upstairs when you both situate yourselves," he said turning away and going up a set of wooden stairs in the dark, dusty, gloomy room.

"W-What's going on?" Subaru whispered to Reznov.

"I… Don't know exactly boy…." Reznov replied. "Can you stand?" he said, helping prop Subaru onto his feet. He stumbled a bit before finally regaining balance.

"Yeah… I think so," he said as Reznov nodded and made his way to the staircase as well, with Subaru following along.

The two made their way up and onto the ground floor where it was pretty dimly lighted as it appeared to be night time. Following their instincts, they waded through the darkness to the nearest light source which appeared to be at the end of a hall with a door slightly opened.

Once arriving, Reznov slowly peeked his head through to see a small living room with chairs, a desk, and a fireplace, burning brightly and warming the room. Feeling more comfortable, he stepped inside with Subaru in tow to finally see Dr. Monty on a cushioned seat, facing the flame.

The man turned his head to see the other two. "Come, come. Take a seat with me," he motioned them over. "I even warmed up some tea if you would like some."

Subaru and Reznov looked at each other a bit confused but obliged anyways as they both took an individual seat and cup from the table nearby.

…

Silence and awkwardness permeated the air as only the crackling of the fireplace made sound in the room as the three did not speak, only sipping their hot tea.

Reznov was the first to break surprisingly.

"You said you had answers… To our questions…" he said to the older gentleman.

Dr. Monty brought his tea to his lips once more and let out a sound of satisfaction in the refreshment.

He set down the cup onto the table.

"Yes. Now what do want the answers to?"

…

Reznov thought for a bit before asking his question.

"Why are we living the same lives as we did, two weeks in a row? Time has just seem to be looping in a way… Like a broken vinyl disc on a record player…"

Dr. Monty chuckled. "To answer that, basically whenever young Subaru here dies, time seems to be set back to a certain date or moment… or whatever that witch chooses…"

Reznov's eyebrows arched in confusion. 'Death? Time loops?... Things are getting more confusing…' But at least he now knew that Subaru's death triggers the time loops. But now the question is, how in the world is he dying?

The veteran pushed those thoughts back as he decided on another question.

...

"Why am I not dead? I should've died at Vorkuta…"

"Because I saved you in that moment. I saw a use for you," he answered before suddenly springing up from his chair.

"Ooh Ooh! Right… Uh… Before we continue on, let me start from the beginning…" he said, taking in a bit of air. "As I said before, I am Dr. Monty, and I am a Keeper of the known universes…"

Reznov and Subaru both gave him a blank stare.

…

Dr. Monty sighed. "Yeah, I thought you would react that way… ' _Who is this crazy old man yapping some crazy doo dad at us?'_ " he said in a mocking tone.

"Well let me fill you two in on something…" he turned back to them. "I'm not exactly who I appear to be…"

The two men's eyes widened in surprise and some horror as the very form of Dr. Monty flashed into something completely different. So very otherworldly and terrifying. Even though it was only for a brief moment, shivers were sent down their spine as they witnessed Dr. Monty's true form for a split second before he changed back into the form the older gentleman he once was before.

"Now that I have your full attention… Let me explain everything from the very beginning…." he said again as the environment shifted around him, allowing the two to enter his mindscape, letting them see what he sees.

"Long ago… In the beginning of ALL universes, there only existed the Ancients. In other words beings like myself of course," he explained.

"Together, we breathed life upon many worlds and created something that we were all astonished of and adored…. _Free Will_."

Subaru then interrupted. "Wait. Wait. Wait… So what you're saying is… you're a god?!"

"If that is your interpretation of a what god is then… I guess…" he shrugged. "I'm not as omnipotent as you think I am but either way… where was I..? Oh yes!" he continued on.

"Long after the creation of the worlds and dimensions, we Ancients, like myself, established the Order of the Keepers. An order meant to keep the balance of the worlds in check and protect it if need be. And things were honestly going pretty swell if I may be honest," he said.

"We watched life, death, happiness, sadness, and everything that goes on in a universe and swore to one single most important rule that we must follow… And it was to NEVER disrupt _Free Will_ ," he explained further letting the two men take in all this information.

"Now you're probably asking, where am I going with all of this? Well I'll tell you…"

…

"The Apothicons… Ancients who were corrupted by Dark Aether, having their minds and hearts twisted beyond recognition, seeking only to bring havoc upon everything they get their hands on and feeding on the life force of all worlds… and their hunger is insatiable might I add…"

"To sum things up, A great war broke out between the Apothicons, the keepers and our human allies and we managed to seal them away temporarily, they resurface again and we beat them back once more… Fracturing of the worlds... Yadda Yadda Yadda… I'm guessing you two are getting the point here... Good versus the forces of great evil. Capische?"

The two men slowly but surely nodded.

"This… is… quite a lot to take in…" Reznov said in some confusion with Subaru nodding in agreement.

"But what does this have to do with us now?"

Dr. Monty smiled. "Now you're asking the right questions."

"To put it simply, the since the Apothicons are sealed away, they are always trying to wriggle themselves back into reality and they do it by disrupting the flow of the universe," he explained.

"And to do that, you have to access the dark aether and harness its power as I mentioned earlier… And some-FUCKING-body made a connection to it in the world you two were just in… And alarmingly it is not the first time too!" Dr. Monty exclaimed.

"So wait… What you're saying is that since somebody is using the dark aether… the Apothicons will have a chance of returning to wreak havoc upon the worlds once more?" Subaru chimed in.

Dr. Monty clapped. "BINGO. YES!"

…

"You're probably now asking, 'How do I know this?', well let me be first to say that you are in fact living proof!," he said, pointing at Subaru.

"You were so suddenly plucked from your universe and ended up in another which created a disruption in the flow in space and time, which means somebody has been messing with Dark Aether in this world!" Dr. Monty said. "And you probably know who… Don't you.. Boy?"

Subaru gulped. "The witch…"

"Indeed. I did a little research in the world you both were residing and found that the Witch named Satella used the Dark Aether and pulled poor Subaru from his world and into this one… And you're still connected to her… right?"

Subaru felt hesitant to answer.

"You don't need to worry about her here. She has no influence over me and my dominion," he said while chuckling. "It's funny really. When she tried to reverse the time flow of the world, I of course stuck my hand into the mix and she threw such a fit, kicking and screaming like child. But I got my way anyways."

Subaru sighed in relief.

"To simply put, the reason why Reznov here remembers the past events is because I essentially was piggy backing on her time reverse, bringing Reznov back with the time loop along with you Subaru, every time you die of course."

Reznov sat motionless with his mouth agape. Never in a million years would he have imagined these turn of events happening in his life. Now begs the question, 'For what purpose?'

Reznov cleared his throat so that he may speak.

"I'm assuming there is purpose to all of this… The reason why I'm here.. We're here… speaking to you specifically," he said.

Dr. Monty stood in front of the two.

"Indeed. But before that, let me explain just a bit more," he said. "You see fighting the Apothicons tend to fracture the universes as one can POSSIBLY imagine. So when it's time to fix things up, whatever imperfection I see I just toss out bits and pieces into a dimension of its own. But now those 'bits and pieces' have created a world of their own, with life abundant along with it! That is the world you were residing in just now before you came here," he explained.

"However, I cannot help but shake the feeling that the Apothicons will try to wriggle their way back into reality through that world as I now know for sure that the world contains traces of Dark Aether. They will surely use every chance they can get, this is no exception unfortunately," he said.

"I have contemplated to just erase or seal off this dimension entirely just to make sure the threat will not have a chance to come back you know..."

Reznov responded. "Then why haven't you?"

Dr. Monty chuckled. "To be honest, other than damning millions of innocents to the wrath of the Apothicons by sealing off their dimension, some people whom I knew back then sorta… changed my view on things," he said while thinking of the four souls he had previously worked with before. The Patriotic bravado, the mad scientist, the drunkard, and the follower of bushido.

"So you pity that world then...?" Reznov said.

"In a way, yes… I truly want to save it, really I do… But by doing so, I might leave the chance for the Apothicons to return. See my dilemma here?" he said to the veteran in which he nodded in understanding.

"Well now that we got the complicated stuff out of the way, let us discuss why YOU are specifically here, shall we?" he said as he took a seat on his recliner.

"Now then Reznov, in your dimension, you were fated to die at Vorkuta trying to escape of course but I plucked you out from that reality and brought you here instead. Now before you ask, no you cannot return to your former world as it would create a time paradox of some sort. You were supposed to die that day and you shall remain dead to that world. So as long you were fated to end in that world and do not return, I can remove people as I please, get it?" he explained further while Reznov somewhat nodded a bit sadly. Perhaps this new life was the best opportunity to take instead.

"So now onto WHY I brought you here," Dr. Monty said. "You see, what I saw in you that fateful day was a man who deserved somewhat of a second chance, so if you were to say uhh… work for me, I can perhaps arrange some things for you, if you catch my drift…"

Reznov thought about it for a moment. It's not like he had much of an option anyways he thought. "I see, if I do your bidding, you will continue to offer me a second chance at life you say?"

"Pretty much," Dr. Monty responded.

"And if I don't?"

"Then I just simply erase you and that world is all."

"Oh…"

...

"What will you have me do then?" Reznov asked in curiosity.

Dr. Monty smiled. "You're going to help me save this world."

At that moment, Subaru brashly inserted himself. "Wait. Hold up. What about me?"

Dr. Monty turned to face the young man. "What about you boy? Isn't this what you've always wanted? To live in a new world? Seeking adventure, fortune, or whatever you mortals desire? I honestly think you had it made back in your previous world. Your mum and dad are worried sick you know," he said.

"Though I have to confess, I don't think I'll be able to send you home Subaru. Don't want to create anymore paradoxes and contaminate the time stream now that you're somewhat connected to traces of Dark Aether due to that witch. For the most part, you are also dead to that world Subaru."

Subaru a bit fell silent.

Reznov took note of Subaru's reaction. Come to think of it, he has never questioned his past and reasoning as to why he was excited about the new world. He looked pretty well off in his point of view.

Dr. Monty rubbed his chin and thought. "Well whatever I guess, I suppose you both can work together in saving this world," he said while shrugging. "Whatever works…"

Dr. Monty clapped his hands. "So! Are well all in agreement? The both of you to help working on saving this world?"

Reznov nodded as he really had no other choice while Subaru smiled with anticipation.

'Finally! My time to shine. A story in which I can be the hero.!' Subaru thought to himself about the possibilities of the future. 'Just like all the other isekais I've read! But now it's my turn!'

"For the both of you, your job will be to simply secure, contain, and protect essentially," Dr. Monty explained. "You will locate the sources of the Dark aether in the world and destroy it along with those whom are using it, and in addition, send their souls to me so that they may no longer have an influence in the world. I don't care the methods used, just get it done."

"Sending soul… wha-... and how do you propose I do such a thing?" Reznov asked, a bit confused of the request. "And what does this dark aether look like by the way? And is there a time frame for all of this to be done in?"

"Right, of course…" Dr. Monty said as he manifested a picture of a weird sort of rock into his hand and gave it to Reznov. "Dark Aether, or rather what you humans call 'Element 115', have very interesting properties to them in which they can potentially be used to bend reality and its rules essentially… Once you find some, you must dispose of it to make sure no one can ever harness its powers," he explained.

"Furthermore regarding sending and collecting souls, I'll entrust you with this…" Dr. Monty said as he pulled an object out from his jacket and placed it in Reznov's hand.

It was a golden ball with intricate symbols and designs that spoke of other worldliness. A completely alien object in his eyes. It even pulsated with some sort of energy and he felt around its surface.

"What is this?" he asked.

"This is a prototype I made so many eons ago… the original end product was called the 'Summoning Key'. And we used it to help breathe life in the many worlds in existence today," he explained.

"But in this case… since it is a prototype, it won't exactly do what the original did, but it does house enough potent energy for you to do the job I'm sending you off on. In which case, you are able to collect the souls of the ones who are abusing the dark aether and send them to me… Oh and also uhh… give me your hand."

Dr. Monty grabbed onto Reznov's free hand as the veteran soon felt a warm sensation on the back of it.

"There… Don't want you losing such an important artifact so I've binded the 'Summoning key' to you specifically… You can now call it and dismiss it at will."

As soon as Dr. Monty finished, Reznov thought a bit and dismissed the object away as it faded from existence and made it reappear into his hand a moment later.

"Hmm… Convenient… But still, how do I collect souls with this again?" he asked Dr. Monty.

The ancient man responded. "Well if they are simply an ethereal being in the first place, just think hard with the stone and it should do the rest. But if it is a living person, they must err.. Die first…"

"Oh… What else can this artifact do?" Reznov asked.

Dr. Monty shrugged. "It all depends on the user and their creativity I suppose. We keepers used it to breathe life into worlds. A mortal, well…. Probably can do mortal things with it I suppose… Freeze time, immobilize things, create light… It really all depends on person to person I suppose…"

"Well if that be all, I suppose it's time to return you two back to that world now…" Dr. Monty said as he waved his hand, opening a rift in time and space back to where the two men previously were.

The two got up from their seats and walked towards the rift.

"I wish you both good luck and that I will keep in contact with you every once in awhile, but most importantly remember this…" Dr. Monty said in a whispered tone," I'm always watching…."

Subaru stepped into the rift, being the first to leave Dr. Monty's realm and back into the other while Reznov followed suit but felt a hand hold him back for a bit.

"A quick word if you will Reznov…" Dr. Monty said. "A moment of your time is all I need for now."

Reznov nodded and turned to face him.

"Regarding the time frame in which all this must be done.. To be honest, I don't know… dealing with Apothicons and whatnot can be tricky business you see… So time is sort of a non factor here," as he said scratching his head.

"But I'll get straight to the point here. There's a lot of what you call 'Magic bullshittery' going on in this world and you're going to go up against it a lot in this mission of yours…" Dr. Monty explained as Reznov nodded, remembering his fight with Elsa, and the things Beatrice, Emilia, and Roswaal can do.

"The so called "Gods" of this world seem to find enjoyment in gifting individuals with these things called 'Blessings' so I've decided to essentially give you one myself! Just to match the theme you know... And I know just the perfect one for you…" he said he placed his palm over Reznov's eyes.

"I grant thee… **The Eyes of Deceit** " he said a glow emitted from his hands to Reznov. "I think you'll find this very useful in your future endeavors…"

Reznov felt really nothing as he stood there a bit confused, not knowing that Dr. Monty did or what it was really…

"Look… I know things didn't go well for you in your previous life and now has gotten even more confusing… Hell all this jazz about 'saving the world' and interdimensional beings is A LOT to take in at once… But I know you are capable to getting through of all this…"

"Well that's that. Off you go now!" as Reznov felt reality shimmer around him.

"Oh… and if I were offer a small world of advice for you… then DON'T TRUST THAT FUCKING CLOWN!"

Reznov suddenly felt forcefully ejected back to the other world where he found himself next to Subaru whom placed his jacket over the corpses of the two maids, covering them in respect.

It was still dusk as the air around them still permeated with the smell of blood from the two corpses of the dead maids, Rem and Ram.

'What a shame…' Reznov thought to himself as he saw them lying side by side with each other. But what done was done. There was no consequence as time can still be reversed he presumed. But for now, there were questions he had for Subaru and his strange character. Why was he not in grief to never see his loved ones once more, or to never be able to return home?

"Subaru…" Reznov said the young man.

"Yes?"

"Before we move on, I've been meaning to ask you… What sort of life did you live back in our world? Was it full of hardships? Were times tough on you and your family? Or were you all alone?" he asked in which Subaru looked away in shame.

"No… I had two loving parents… who cared and provided for me in every way…" he explained. "I just feel… that I don't belong, you know. Society over there isn't for me…"

"What is that supposed to mean young man?" Reznov said, prodding into his past.

"I just… don't know if I can live the way I want to back there… a life where I can be a somebody that matters…" Subaru admitted. "Look… can't we just talk about something else?"

"No," Reznov replied. "If we are both to work together, I must know why you think the way you do. You are young and have yet to experience the fullest extent of life in my eyes… I can feel your selfish ambitions!"

"What the hell are you getting at?" Subaru retorted in annoyance.

…

"I did not ever had the chance to discuss this with you as I simply put it behind me, but recent events had me bring it back into the light…" Reznov said to Subaru.

"Explain yourself… Your actions back at the Capital," Reznov said. "The day which you so readily abandoned me to search alone for a lost girl's parents so you can run off Emilia… What were you thinking when you left me behind?"

Subaru groaned. "C'mon… Do we really have to talk about this now fo all times?"

"Yes…"

…

"I guess you can say I… wanted quality time with a girl of my dreams…" he admitted. "Although I may have had a lapse in judgement, everything worked out in the end right?"

…

"While that maybe true… it most could have gone better… Had you not encountered Elsa alone that day, you both wouldn't have almost died there…" Reznov scolded Subaru.

The young man started thinking once more as he realized that perhaps if Reznov did come along that day, both he and Emilia could've easily dispatched Elsa without problem…

"I suppose.. You're right… If it's an apology you want, then I'm sorry, okay? I'll try to be more careful next time… Just… can we move on from this now or what?"

…

"Very well… for now…" Reznov muttered.

"Fow now, I also need to know what have you been planning for the past two time loops… in fact, how in the world did you die for last two times?"

For the next twenty minutes, Subaru explained his side of the story for the last few loops, explaining his mysterious deaths and a killer on the loose.

"... and so I did what I thought best for everyone in the mansion considering that time looped itself every time I died…" Subaru explained as he finished his story. "What really surprised me was that Rem was the one behind my last death, and almost this one too had you not intervened…" Subaru said as he looked at the still, warm corpses of the twin maids. He couldn't help but stare at the gore that Reznov had created with the gaping holes in both Ram and Rem's heads caused by his weapons.

"Do you know her motive in targeting you? Why would she want to kill you?" Reznov asked.

"Hmm... " Subaru thought a bit and remembered what had happened before Reznov intervened.

"I.. remember her accusing me to be a witch cultist saying that I have their scent… and that I was a possible spy, waiting to sabotage them… perhaps that's what set her off on me…"

Subaru looked back at the corpses again.

...

"...Did you really have to kill them? Was there really no other way… to you know… talk them out of this?" Subaru questioned.

Reznov shook his head. "Nyet… I knew for some time now that our actions would have no long lasting repercussions as we would simply loops back in time, so I did whatever necessary to keep you alive," he explained. "Furthermore, I have learned that since our fight with Elsa, people like us can't underestimate those with superhuman strength and such… attempting close quarters combat even against these maids would prove very troublesome, so I simply killed them from a distance is all… there is no conceivable way for me to restrain these two afterall…"

"Ah…" Subaru replied in understanding. "So… what now? What's the plan?" Subaru replied to Reznov.

Reznov put his hand to his chin and thought for a bit.

"I believe it best if we both, carry out the week as we did the first time around and meet up around the 4th day so that we can be together and prepare for whatever comes at us as it seems to be around the end of the week when things tend to happen," Reznov said, explaining his plan. "For now, I suggest you try to not act suspicious as you know they were observing you since the beginning. You probably did something to alert their suspicions afterall… We will work on Dr. Monty's plans later. For now, let us get through with this..."

Subaru nodded in agreement. "Yeah.. sounds good…"

His heart started racing. Time now had to be reversed, and the only way for that to happen was for him to die as the young man thought back and remembered the agony and pain in his previous death. He was scared.

At that moment, he noticed Reznov pick up his rifle from earlier off the floor and motioned for Subaru to turn around.

He got the hint.

"You know what must be done now…" he said. "I can promise you one thing though... It will be quick and painless..."

…

The tension in Subaru's heart and mind somewhat eased as he realised that things wouldn't be the same as before… suffering in agony before dying. But nonetheless, he was still nervous about the whole affair as he was still somewhat quivering.

"A-Alright…" he said shakily, turning around and kneeling on the ground. "Let's just g-get this over with…"

Reznov checked his rifle once more, making sure a round was in the chamber as he leveled the barrel to the back of Subaru's head. At point blank range, Subaru would surely die in an instant and wouldn't even see it coming. A blessing, in his opinion.

"Alright Subaru. Remember to stick to the plan. Got it?" he said to the young man who nodded in anticipation, waiting to get shot and both of them thought it was a bit awkward to somewhat nonchalantly be okay with this.

Reznov then squeezed the trigger of his Mosin rifle as the weapon roared its ear splitting crack, sending a 7.62mm round through Subaru's head as it quite literally blew half his head clean off, brain matter splattering everywhere in front of him, even some landing on Reznov himself.

Subaru's now dead corpse collapsed as it hunched over, twitching a bit before going lifeless.

"Phew… now that's over…" Reznov said to himself as he can feel the world around him now starting to distort.

But in the moment, a blood curdling scream rang out from the corner of his eye, as he view darted to that direction.

It was Emilia. Tears running down her cheeks as a face of pure and utter despair was shown for all to view.

'Blyat…' Reznov thought to himself, as he realized the situation he was in. She had probably went to check on Rem and Ram to see why they were gone for so long.

Being around three dead bodies of people whom she cared about and being the one holding a weapon to cause it really wasn't a good image in retrospect.

But Reznov couldn't help but stare.

…

It was the face he never wanted to see again…

"Why.. why. Why.. why….?" she muttered over and over again, in between sobs.

Reznov was at a loss of words.

Only a few times in his life had Reznov felt utter regret, and this was one of them...

"I'm sorry…" Reznov said softly as he felt the time stream pull him away, the image of Emilia fading away as a cry of despair and betrayal was forever ingrained into his memory.


End file.
